{"nrhp_refnum":"91000290","name":"St. John's Episcopal Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"315 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Marion","county":"McDowell County","state":"NC","lat":35.68017763000006,"lon":-82.00663815999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-03-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. John's Episcopal Church is a one-story Carpenter Gothic church at 315 S. Main Street in Marion, McDowell County, North Carolina. The main body was built in 1883-1884 and the church is still used for worship.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church reflects community and congregational growth in Marion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Criterion A). It also presents the church as an outstanding example of vernacular Carpenter Gothic architecture and fine local craftsmanship (Criterion C). It is described as the oldest surviving church structure in Marion and one of the few buildings to survive the 1894 Main Street fire.","narrative":"St. John's Episcopal Church is a small board-and-batten church on South Main Street in Marion, North Carolina, built in 1883-1884 in the Carpenter Gothic style. Its steeply pitched roof, lancet windows, hand-hewn beams and beaded-board interior reflect careful local craftsmanship. The congregation's first rector, Charles Theodore Bland, was a skilled carpenter who did much of the work with local carpenter William Dellinger. A more elaborate bell tower replaced the original in 1903, a choir room and sacristy were added in 1921, and the sanctuary was lengthened seventeen feet in 1949 with matching details. The church is considered one of the best Carpenter Gothic examples in western North Carolina and is the oldest surviving church building in Marion. It also survived the 1894 fire on Main Street. Its expansions followed the growth of both the town and the congregation, which was founded in 1881 with five members.","period_of_significance":"1883-1937","architect_builder":"Bland, Charles Theodore, builder; Dellinger, William, builder","architectural_style":"Other: Carpenter Gothic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Current function is still religious; the form lists the church as an active congregation and the building as retaining its original character despite later additions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:48.788901-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/7182/47718213/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/91000290.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000290/184d268aad-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000290/184d268aad-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Upstateherd","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Johns_Episcopal_Church,_Marion,_NC.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Upstateherd</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:St._Johns_Episcopal_Church,_Marion,_NC.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718213","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Episcopal_Church_(Marion,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14708174"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/mcdowell-county/st-johns-episcopal-church-91000290/"}