{"nrhp_refnum":"98000165","name":"West Newark Congregational Church and Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of W. Creek Rd. and W. Newark Cross Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newark Valley","county":"Tioga County","state":"NY","lat":42.24242284950006,"lon":-76.23556742542073,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-03-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Greek Revival frame church built in 1848 and an adjoining community cemetery dating to about the 1820s, at West Creek Road and West Newark Cross Road in West Newark, Newark Valley, Tioga County, New York.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church and cemetery are intact, representative examples of religious buildings and cemeteries in Newark Valley, significant under Criterion C for architecture and art. The church is called an excellent local example of Greek Revival design, with a temple front and carved tower openings. The cemetery qualifies by age, with markers from 1830 to the present.","narrative":"West Newark Congregational Church and its neighboring cemetery sit in the valley of the West Branch of Owego Creek in Newark Valley, New York. The wood-frame church was built in 1848 by carpenters Gilbert Hover and Deacon Reuben Chittenden, and it follows the Greek Revival style. Its west front resembles a temple, with four pilasters, a heavy cornice and a closed pediment, while a square bell tower rises from the roof ridge and carries carved or jigsaw-cut ornament. A shallow rear addition, probably from the early twentieth century, holds a raised pulpit. The cemetery, probably begun in the 1820s on land given by William Richardson, holds markers from 1830 onward, from incised slate tablets to later marble and granite stones. The congregation formed in 1823 and has always been small. Both properties were listed for their architectural and artistic value as intact, representative local examples, and the cemetery also for its age.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1820-1920","architect_builder":"Gilbert Hover, Reuben Chitterden","architectural_style":"Mid-Nineteenth Century/Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a church, with weekly services in spring, summer and fall as of 1997; the cemetery is maintained by church members.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.973392-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/98000165.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000165/7440a42853-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000165/7440a42853-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tkeator","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_Newark_Congregational_Church_and_Cemetery.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tkeator</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:West_Newark_Congregational_Church_and_Cemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315120","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Newark_Congregational_Church_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7986063"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/tioga-county/west-newark-congregational-church-and-cemetery-98000165/"}