{"nrhp_refnum":"86002879","name":"Mount Lebanon Chapel and Cemetery","other_names":["Lebanon Chapel"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SR 1411","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wrightsville Beach","county":"New Hanover County","state":"NC","lat":34.21414925300007,"lon":-77.82609823299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-10-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A restored one-story frame Episcopal chapel and its walled cemetery, built in 1835 in Airlie Gardens near Wrightsville Beach, New Hanover County, North Carolina, by Dr. Thomas H. Wright on his family's Mt. Lebanon property.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the chapel is a simple, sturdy example of Greco-Gothic vernacular architecture and the oldest known surviving religious structure in New Hanover County. It is also tied to the development of the Greenville, Masonboro and Wrightsville Sound areas. The adjoining cemetery, with burials from 1815 to 1964, represents nineteenth and twentieth century regional cemeteries.","narrative":"Mt. Lebanon Chapel is a small Episcopal chapel in a clearing within Airlie Gardens, near Wrightsville Beach. Dr. Thomas H. Wright built it in 1835 on part of his family's Mt. Lebanon property, and lay readers from St. James Church in Wilmington held summer services there. The weatherboarded frame building rests on brick piers and has pointed-arch openings with diamond-paned windows, a five-step cornice and a corbelled belfry. A walled cemetery lies about a hundred feet south, holding ninety-one burials from 1815 to 1964, including members of several Wilmington families. The chapel is considered the oldest known surviving religious structure in New Hanover County and a sturdy example of vernacular Greco-Gothic design. Legal title passed to the vestry of St. James Parish in 1875. After vandals damaged the building in 1971 and 1972, it was restored and rededicated in 1974. It is now used for special services and weddings.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Unknown (built by Dr. Thomas H. Wright, who erected the chapel)","architectural_style":"Greco-Gothic, vernacular (also described as Greek Revival)","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Restored and rededicated in April 1974 after vandalism; currently used for special services and weddings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:48.866039-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/26/7215/47721526/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/86002879.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002879/0fdf2d4bac-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002879/0fdf2d4bac-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Edward Orde","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Lebanon_Chapel_and_Cemetery_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Edward Orde</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Lebanon_Chapel_and_Cemetery_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721526","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Lebanon_Chapel_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6921796"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/new-hanover-county/mount-lebanon-chapel-and-cemetery-86002879/"}