{"nrhp_refnum":"90000860","name":"St. Paul's Reformed Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of SR 1151 and SR 1005","address_restricted":false,"city":"Startown","county":"Catawba County","state":"NC","lat":35.64794127300007,"lon":-81.26778583899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-06-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small frame Gothic Revival church at the junction of SR 1151 and SR 1005 in Startown, near Newton in central Catawba County, North Carolina, built in 1903-1904. The architect or builder is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the most architecturally significant rural frame church of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Catawba County, meeting Criterion C in Architecture. It also meets Criteria Consideration A because its primary significance is architectural. It represents the religious heritage of German settlers and the congregation's move from a rural site to Startown.","narrative":"Built in 1903-1904 in Startown, near Newton in Catawba County, North Carolina, this small weatherboarded church is a vernacular version of the Gothic Revival style. Its asymmetrical plan combines a central rectangular block, an offset front wing, a shallow rear apse and a recessed corner entrance and bell tower topped by a bell-cast pyramidal roof. Lancet windows edged with colored glass, glass roundels in the gables and patterned metal roof shingles provide the main detailing. Inside, original wood pews face a Gothic pulpit, and large paneled doors on a pulley system separate the sanctuary from a classroom. The congregation, descended from German Lutheran and Reformed settlers of 1759, moved here from a rural site because Startown was more central. The church was listed as the county's most architecturally significant rural frame church of its era. The congregation moved to a new brick complex in 1975, and the old building has been kept in excellent condition with almost no exterior change.","period_of_significance":"1903-04","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Gothic (Gothic Revival translated into the vernacular)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"No longer in active use as a church after the congregation moved to a new building in 1975, but maintained in excellent condition. Exterior unchanged and interior little altered.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.564026-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/7173/47717384/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/90000860.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717384","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul%27s_Reformed_Church_(Startown,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7591188"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/catawba-county/st-pauls-reformed-church-90000860/"}