{"nrhp_refnum":"97000862","name":"Sardis Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"GA 114, jct. of GA 114 and Sardis Church Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chattoogaville","county":"Chattooga County","state":"GA","lat":34.35256229400005,"lon":-85.44369451899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-08-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rural wood-frame Baptist church in the Chattoogaville community on Georgia State Route 114, about 4.5 miles south of Lyerly, Chattooga County, Georgia, built around 1859. Its builder is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is an intact, unusually sophisticated rural example of a gable-front church with Italianate details, a style that was rare outside urban areas. It is also considered one of the oldest rural religious buildings in northwest Georgia to continuously serve its original congregation.","narrative":"Sardis Baptist Church is a rectangular, wood-framed, front-gabled country church built around 1859 in the Chattoogaville community of Chattooga County, Georgia. Its Italianate character shows in the decorative roofline brackets, boxed cornice with returns, and diamond-shaped gable vents. Inside, board-and-batten walls, a 16-foot ceiling, a rear balcony, and wooden benches remain, along with later changes such as a 1949 Sunday school addition. The congregation was organized in 1835 and met first in a nearby school house before building on land donated by members. The church was recognized for two reasons: its rare, ornate design in a rural setting where the Italianate style was uncommon, and its standing as one of the oldest rural religious buildings in northwest Georgia still serving its original congregation. It has kept its function as a church continuously since construction. Two later resources on the property, a pump house and a mobile home, do not contribute to its significance.","period_of_significance":"c.1859-1947","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Italianate","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a church; the congregation holds three services per week and plans a fellowship hall.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:43.4638-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/97000862.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000862/35e48be52b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000862/35e48be52b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Dethomson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sardis_Baptist_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Dethomson</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:Sardis_Baptist_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93207390","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q134273331"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/chattooga-county/sardis-baptist-church-97000862/"}