{"nrhp_refnum":"95000963","name":"Church of St. John in the Wilderness","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of NY 344 and Valley View Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Copake Falls","county":"Columbia County","state":"NY","lat":42.120781022000074,"lon":-73.51864417899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-08-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story Gothic Revival board-and-batten Episcopal church on NYS Route 344 in the hamlet of Copake Falls, Columbia County, New York, built 1851-52 with a 1853 parsonage and a cemetery on about two acres.","why_significant":"The church is argued to be architecturally significant as a distinguished example of Gothic Revival board-and-batten churches built in small New York towns in the mid-nineteenth century. It and the parsonage were designed by Richard Upjohn, a leading ecclesiastical architect who popularized board-and-batten for rural churches. It is described as one of the Hudson Valley region's finest examples of its type despite a recent siding replacement.","narrative":"Set on the north side of Route 344 beside Taconic State Park, this small Episcopal church in Copake Falls was built in 1851-52 to designs by Richard Upjohn. Funds came from the Pomeroy family, who ran the local iron works, and from Isaac C. Chesbrough; the church was consecrated in June 1852. Its wood frame is clad in vertical board-and-batten, with a nave, side narthex, chancel, pointed lancet windows and an open timber bell cote on the west front. Upjohn also designed the interior furniture, which survives largely intact, and a picturesque parsonage added in 1853. The property includes the Pomeroy family cemetery, marked by a marble obelisk and cast iron fence. The church is regarded as one of the region's finest board-and-batten churches and an outstanding example of Upjohn's work. Its original siding was replaced in 1992 with matching material, yet the building keeps a high degree of architectural integrity.","period_of_significance":"1851-1911","architect_builder":"Upjohn, Richard, Architect","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century/Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Church retains its original site, pews and altar furniture; siding was replaced in 1992 to replicate the original, and the foundation was replaced in the 1960s. Still used as a religious property and cemetery.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.208055-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/95000963.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000963/1898ebb66e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000963/1898ebb66e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Charley Musselman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_John_in_the_Wilderness_Episcopal_Church,_Copake_Falls,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Charley Musselman</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_John_in_the_Wilderness_Episcopal_Church,_Copake_Falls,_NY.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"07000334","name":"Copake Iron Works Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/copake-iron-works-historic-district-07000334/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316962","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._John_in_the_Wilderness","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5117239"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/columbia-county/church-of-st-john-in-the-wilderness-95000963/"}