{"nrhp_refnum":"87000822","name":"Saint Agnes Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"27 Franklin St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Franklin","county":"Caswell County","state":"NC","lat":35.183098130000076,"lon":-83.38261611799999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. Agnes Church is a red brick Gothic Revival church on the north side of Church Street in Franklin, Macon County, North Carolina, built 1886-88 with Episcopal congregation use. The builder was William Gould Bulgin.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church was the base for Rev. John A. Deal's missionary work and served as the mother church for the spread of the Episcopal denomination in far western North Carolina. It is also presented as a well-preserved example of rural Episcopal Gothic Revival churches of the period, with local architectural and historical significance.","narrative":"Brick Gothic Revival church in Franklin, Macon County, North Carolina, built in 1888 with its pointed-arch windows, rose window and wooden truss ceiling. Its builder was William Gould Bulgin, and the donors were Mr. and Mrs. E. E. H. Bell of New York. The church served as the base for Rev. John A. Deal, who arrived in the county in 1877 and was the founding figure of Episcopal work in the southwestern mountains. From St. Agnes, Deal rode a circuit through several counties and helped organize congregations in Highlands, Cashiers, Murphy and Cullowhee. He also founded St. Agnes School for young ladies in 1891-92, and his efforts in education eased hostility toward the Episcopal Church in Franklin. The church was regarded as the mother church for that spread. The building has kept much of its original interior and fabric, and a parish hall was added behind it in 1972.","period_of_significance":"1888-1910","architect_builder":"William Gould Bulgin (builder/architect)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Altered; the parish hall was built in 1972 and a bell tower added in 1967; the church is described as largely unaltered from its construction period.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:42.023603-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/7194/47719477/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/87000822.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000822/2bd65007c0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000822/2bd65007c0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"25or6to4","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Agnes_Episcopal_Church,_Franklin,_NC.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">25or6to4</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:Saint_Agnes_Episcopal_Church,_Franklin,_NC.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719477","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Agnes_Episcopal_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7400880"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/caswell-county/saint-agnes-church-87000822/"}