Red Brick Church
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Why it's listed
Red Brick Church is a former Baptist meeting house at the corner of Brick Church Road and South Geneva Road, just east of Sodus Center in Wayne County, New York. Built of local red brick by members of the congregation between 1824 and 1826, it opened for worship on July 15, 1826. The two-story, gable-roofed building rests on a fieldstone foundation and has a three-bay, center-entrance front, evenly spaced windows with stone sills and lintels, and anchor ends on all four elevations. Inside, a gallery on octagonal piers encircles the upper level, and the room keeps its curved pews, beaded board wainscoting, whitewashed plaster walls and a raised dais. The congregation traces its roots to preaching begun by Elder Seba Norton in 1804. Behind the church lies a burying ground whose earliest marker dates to 1809, holding many of the area's early settlers and veterans. The property is valued as an intact example of settlement-era religious architecture and as a record of early community life.
Significance in brief: The building is presented as a remarkably intact, rare surviving example of early nineteenth-century religious architecture in Wayne County, and it is tied to the settlement period in Sodus. It housed the area's first Baptist society and served as a house of worship until 1926. The surviving burial ground holds many early and prominent pioneers, including Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veterans.
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 97001527, listed December 8, 1997. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of Brick Church Rd. and S. Geneva Rd., Sodus Center |
|---|---|
| County | Wayne County |
| Listed | December 8, 1997 |
| Reference number | 97001527 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1809 - ca. 1920 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown; the form says the brick meeting house was built by members of the congregation. |
| Architectural style | Early Republic: Federal |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed current function is religion (meeting house); the cemetery is still active. The interior survives with a high degree of integrity. |
| Acreage | 4.9 |
| Coordinates | 43.19958, -77.01138 (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 97001527.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7303787
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.