{"nrhp_refnum":"89001889","name":"Graysontown Methodist Church","other_names":["60-109"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"VA 613","address_restricted":false,"city":"Graysontown","county":"Montgomery County","state":"VA","lat":37.03709311400007,"lon":-80.56092181499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-11-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A frame, weatherboarded nave-plan church on a ridge in a bend of the Little River above the village of Graysontown, Montgomery County, Virginia, built in 1895 by Brother Cook and members of the congregation.","why_significant":"The church is significant under criterion C as an important, elaborate example of a nave-plan church. Montgomery County has fourteen late nineteenth-century nave-plan churches, and this is one of only a few with a tower. Its tower reflects that of the earlier Greek Revival Snowville Christian Church across the river.","narrative":"Graysontown Methodist Church occupies a hilltop lot on a ridge in a bend of the Little River, with a view across the water to Snowville. Built in 1895, the frame, weatherboarded building follows a nave plan and has a projecting vestibule with a transomed double door. Above it rises a two-stage tower with bracketed friezes, walls of alternating straight and offset wood shingles, and a pyramidal roof with kicked eaves. A cornerstone dated July 4, 1895, marks the northwest corner, and the interior retains late nineteenth-century detailing. A minister known as Brother Cook and church members built it largely from donated materials. Montgomery County has fourteen late nineteenth-century nave-plan churches, and few have a tower. This one is considered an elaborate example of the type and echoes the tower of Snowville Christian Church. The Methodist Conference closed it in 1976, after which members bought it for nondenominational use. A rear addition does not impair its significant features.","period_of_significance":"1895","architect_builder":"Brother Cook, builder","architectural_style":"Nave plan","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Closed by the Methodist Conference in 1976; members bought the building and now use it as a nondenominational or inter-denominational church. A modern two-story addition sits at the rear.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.459476-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/90/6787/41678790/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/89001889.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001889/e40ebbdc36-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001889/e40ebbdc36-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Skye Marthaler","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graysontown_Methodist_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Skye Marthaler</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:Graysontown_Methodist_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678790","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graysontown_Methodist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712387"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/montgomery-county/graysontown-methodist-church-89001889/"}