{"nrhp_refnum":"86001127","name":"Oak Plain Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SR 1943 S of SR 1945","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waycross","county":"Sampson County","state":"NC","lat":34.838299610000035,"lon":-78.16908628199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-05-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small frame Greek Revival Presbyterian church with an adjoining cemetery, located on the west side of SR 1943 near Waycross in eastern Sampson County, North Carolina. It was built in 1859-1860 for a congregation organized in July 1859.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a handsome, small-scale version of the larger Greek Revival churches built by prosperous congregations in southeastern North Carolina late in the antebellum period. It is also noted for its unaltered state, original interior furnishings, and a second-level gallery with the county's most extensive use of the sheaf-of-wheat railing motif. The cemetery holds the graves of founding members and one of the church's builders.","narrative":"Oak Plain Presbyterian Church is a small, one-story frame church in eastern Sampson County, North Carolina, near the Duplin County line. Built in 1859-1860 for a congregation organized in July 1859, it follows the temple form of the Greek Revival style, with a pedimented gable, plain pilasters, a Doric-capped frieze and tall twelve-over-twelve-over-twelve windows. Inside, a gallery runs across the front and sides, enclosed by a railing with a sheaf-of-wheat motif that is the most extensive use of that design in the county. The original heart pine pews and a Gothic-arched pulpit survive. A bell tower was added in 1976 and a cement block educational building in 1948-1949. The grounds include a shaded cemetery with more than 200 graves, among them founding members and builder W. K. Chesnutt. The church was listed as a well-preserved, modest example of the antebellum churches of southeastern North Carolina.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific dates 1859/60)","architect_builder":"Unknown on the form; church tradition names John Fred Taylor and William K. Chesnutt as builders","architectural_style":"Greek Revival (temple form)","criteria":["A","B","C","D"],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a church; the description calls the building unaltered, and the congregation has about 40 members.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:48.863782-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/63/7184/47718463/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/86001127.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718463","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Plain_Presbyterian_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7073682"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/sampson-county/oak-plain-presbyterian-church-86001127/"}