{"nrhp_refnum":"90000865","name":"Memorial Reformed Church","other_names":["Memorial United Church of Christ"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"201 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Maiden","county":"Catawba County","state":"NC","lat":35.57502099800007,"lon":-81.20993183599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-06-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick church at 201 E. Main Street in Maiden, Catawba County, North Carolina, built in 1887 with a 1914 entrance and bell tower and a 1936-1937 Sunday School annex. It is attributed to builder Salathiel Bolick.","why_significant":"The church is argued to be architecturally significant as an unusual vernacular blend of Classical Revival and Gothic Revival traits, unique among surviving late nineteenth century churches in Catawba County. It is also significant for exploration/settlement as the first church in Maiden, closely tied to the town's early development around the Carpenter family cotton mill.","narrative":"Memorial Reformed Church, now Memorial United Church of Christ, is a brick sanctuary on East Main Street in Maiden, Catawba County. Built in 1887 and attributed to Salathiel Bolick, it combines Classical Revival features, such as a pedimented facade, pilasters and keystoned segmental-arched windows, with Gothic-inspired pointed brick hood molds over the side windows. A two-stage bell tower was added in 1914, and a one-story Sunday School annex followed in 1936-1937. The large twenty-four-over-twenty-four-light windows resemble those of textile mills. The church was named in memory of Perry Carpenter, son of mill founder Henry Carpenter, whose family paid for most of the construction. As the first church in Maiden, it grew alongside the mill town, reaching 112 members by 1890. It is valued locally for its unusual vernacular design and its close link to the founding and growth of Maiden.","period_of_significance":"1887","architect_builder":"Bolick, Salathiel","architectural_style":"Gothic; Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a religious structure (Memorial United Church of Christ); belfry openings have been infilled with louvered plywood.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.985288-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/7174/47717445/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/90000865.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000865/c011e5b1d7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000865/c011e5b1d7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Skepticalpoet","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Memorial_Reformed_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Skepticalpoet</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:Memorial_Reformed_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717445","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Reformed_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6815501"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/catawba-county/memorial-reformed-church-90000865/"}