{"nrhp_refnum":"95001118","name":"Salem Union Church and Cemetery","other_names":["Salem Lutheran Church","Salem United Church of Christ"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of NC 1005 (Startown Rd.) and NC 1274 (Maiden--Salem Rd.), SE corner","address_restricted":false,"city":"Maiden","county":"Lincoln County","state":"NC","lat":35.547682001000055,"lon":-81.26480290799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-10-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Religion","European"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rural union church and cemetery on a 4.3-acre tract at the junction of Startown Road and Maiden-Salem Road near Maiden, Lincoln County, North Carolina. The brick church was built in 1849 and later remodeled and enlarged; the cemetery dates from about 1792.","why_significant":"The property is significant as a surviving union church, shared by Lutheran and Reformed (now United Church of Christ) congregations, a tradition that lasted longer in Lincoln County than elsewhere in the Piedmont. The cemetery holds markers from the late eighteenth century to the present. The church records trace the congregations to a traditional founding date of 1796.","narrative":"Salem Union Church and Cemetery occupies a 4.3-acre tract southwest of Maiden in Lincoln County, North Carolina, in an agricultural area now seeing suburban development. The brick church began as a simple rectangular sanctuary built in 1849. A remodeling in 1914-1915 added a corner tower and changed the openings to lancet arches, giving the building a late Gothic Revival character. A two-story Sunday School addition followed in 1936-1937, and a fellowship hall was added in 1989, creating an H-shaped plan. A brick well shed from about 1928 also contributes. The cemetery, in use from about 1792, holds roughly 484 markers, including work signed by a South Carolina carver. The property matters as a long-surviving union church, shared by Lutheran and Reformed congregations, a form that lasted longer in Lincoln County than elsewhere in the Piedmont. The congregations' traditional founding date is 1796, and records begin in the 1810s.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Church and cemetery are described as well maintained, with the lawn mowed regularly; the church remains a place of worship and burial.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.346673-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/7211/47721108/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/95001118.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721108","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_Union_Church_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7404229"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/lincoln-county/salem-union-church-and-cemetery-95001118/"}