{"nrhp_refnum":"87000247","name":"Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Barnstable","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.65400602500006,"lon":-70.41153401899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-03-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small clapboard church on Main Street in Marstons Mills Center, Barnstable, Massachusetts, built before 1830 and moved by oxen from Yarmouth in 1830. The architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church has played a central role in the development and continuation of Marstons Mills village life. It is also considered a good local example of 19th century ecclesiastical architecture, combining Greek Revival form with Queen Anne elements.","narrative":"This small clapboard church on Main Street in Marstons Mills Center was built before 1830 and moved by oxen from Yarmouth in 1830 to land given by Allan Marston and Ebenezer Scudder. It began as a simple rectangular building under a gable roof. Later changes added Queen Anne character: a belfry rising from a pedimented entry porch, decorative shingling, and a double-leaf entry with paneled and glazed doors. A small rear ell was added in 1915, and in 1959 a surplus barracks from nearby Otis Air Force Base was moved beside the church as Memorial Hall, largely through the work of church members. The Methodist Episcopal Society had formed at Marstons Mills soon after 1826. The congregation later united with Osterville's church in 1968, the building housed a school in 1974, and it has been home to the Community Church since 1981. It was listed for its role in village life and as a good local example of 19th century church architecture.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival with Queen Anne elements","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"In good condition and in use as the Community Church, organized in 1981, after serving as a Methodist church and, in 1974, a school.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.837617-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/19/7891/63789119/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87000247.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000247/ba5ee9aef4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000247/ba5ee9aef4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Kenneth C. Zirkel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marston_Mills_Community_Church,_1830.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenneth C. Zirkel</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marston_Mills_Community_Church,_1830.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789119","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marstons_Mills_Community_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6823747"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/methodist-church-87000247/"}