Shiloh-Marion Baptist Church and Cemetery

Buena Vista, Marion County, Georgia Listed May 17, 1984 Ref. 84001159 Building

Why it's listed

Set in a wooded clearing on Georgia Highway 41 at the Marion and Webster county line, this one-story frame church dates to about 1835. It has a gable roof, pine weatherboard siding, a tin roof, nine-over-nine windows, hexagonal porch columns and a single-room sanctuary with a rear apse. Handmade pews and pulpit furniture remain, along with many original heart-pine floorboards. Next to it is a rural cemetery with simple upright markers and unusual stone coverings built in rectangular or elongated triangular shapes over graves. A path leads to a baptismal pool at the head of two springs. The church is the last of five churches that gave the crossroads community of Church Hill its name, and it reflects local craftsmanship in simple Greek Revival style. It also connects to the short-lived Christian Union faith, whose meetings were traditionally held in other churches such as this one. Services stopped in 1935 and resumed after reorganization in 1947.

Significance in brief: The church is argued to be a good intact example of a simple antebellum rural Georgia church with Greek Revival styling. The cemetery is significant for its representative markers and unusual stone house-type grave coverings. The church is the only remaining vestige of the community of Church Hill and is tied to the history of the Christian Union faith founded by Reverend George Lynch Smith.

Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 84001159, listed May 17, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).

Key facts

Address	GA 41, Buena Vista
County	Marion County
Listed	May 17, 1984
Reference number	84001159
Resource type	Building
Period of significance	1800-1899
Architect / builder	Unknown
Architectural style	Greek Revival
Criteria	B — associated with the lives of significant people C — distinctive architecture, design or construction
Areas of significance	Architecture
Level of significance	Local
Status (as stated in the nomination)	Occupied and in religious use; the congregation was reorganized in 1947 and the church remains in use. Original site, with only minor known changes such as replaced flooring and paneling and a replaced stove.
Acreage	10
Coordinates	32.15991, -84.54272 (NPS GIS)

What listing means for this property

Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.

Sources and further reading

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 84001159.
Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
Wikidata Q7496709
This listing as JSON

Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.