Yatesville Methodist Church
Why it's listed
Yatesville Methodist Church is a small wood frame church at the crossroads of Yatesville and Old County Roads in the Yates County hamlet of Yatesville, surrounded by open fields and scattered farm buildings. Construction began in 1837, five years after the local Methodist Episcopal society formed. The building is two stories tall, three bays wide and three deep, with clapboard siding, paneled corner pilasters, a wide frieze, a trabeated entrance with double five-panel doors and a two-stage belfry. A wing was added to the rear around 1907 for meeting rooms and a kitchen. Inside, the entry vestibule, beaded plank wainscoting, pews with carved end panels and an altar rail remain. Late nineteenth-century stained glass replaced the original sash windows. The church was listed for its architecture, as an unusually well-preserved example of a Greek Revival meeting house, one of the county's earliest surviving churches and a local landmark of early settlement.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the church is an exceptionally intact example of traditional frame meeting house architecture in Yates County and one of the county's earliest surviving church buildings. Its restrained Greek Revival design, with a trabeated entrance, tall friezes, pilasters and evenly spaced tall windows, reflects a builder's adaptation of the national style. It retains a high degree of exterior and interior integrity.
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 94000971, listed August 25, 1994. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Yatesville Rd., Potter |
|---|---|
| County | Yates County |
| Listed | August 25, 1994 |
| Reference number | 94000971 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1837 - 1907 (amended to "1837; 1907", corresponding to the initial construction and the 1907 addition) |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century/Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a religious property; the original church survives largely intact, and the balcony has been closed off from the public. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.67172, -77.13760 (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 94000971.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8050225
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.