St. Athanasius Episcopal Church and Parish House and the Church of the Holy Comforter
Why it's listed
On a wooded block in downtown Burlington, North Carolina, two Episcopal churches and their parish buildings record the growth of one congregation. St. Athanasius Church, a small board-and-batten Carpenter Gothic chapel, was built in 1879-1880 in the railroad repair town of Company Shops, renamed Burlington in 1887. It was designed by J. A. S. Oertel, a clergyman and artist, with Captain William H. Turrentine supervising construction. A small parish house followed in 1887, a gift of Lawrence S. Holt, and served as a school. As membership grew, the congregation built the Church of the Holy Comforter in 1909-1911, a cruciform granite Neo-Gothic Revival church designed by New York architect Hobart Upjohn. A granite parish house followed in 1926, and a brick addition and Great Hall in 1963. A cemetery lies between the two churches. The complex was listed for its link to the town's early social development and for its examples of Gothic Revival design.
Significance in brief: The complex is tied to the early social development of Company Shops, later Burlington, a major industrial center in the North Carolina Piedmont. St. Athanasius is presented as a primary example of Carpenter Gothic in the region, designed by clergyman-artist J. A. S. Oertel. Holy Comforter is a representative Neo-Gothic Revival church by New York architect Hobart Upjohn, grandson of Richard Upjohn, and together the buildings show the continuity of Gothic Revival style.
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 79001653, listed May 29, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 300 E. Webb Ave. and 320 E. Davis St., Burlington |
|---|---|
| County | Alamance County |
| Listed | May 29, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79001653 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Johannes Adam Simon Oertel, designer; Capt. William H. Turrentine, supervisor of construction; Hobart Upjohn, architect |
| Architectural style | Carpenter Gothic (St. Athanasius and 1887 parish house); Neo-Gothic Revival (Church of the Holy Comforter and 1926 parish house) |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and in religious use. St. Athanasius is used only occasionally for special services and is maintained and kept in repair by the Church of the Holy Comforter. The 1887 parish house interior has been largely remodeled. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 36.09172, -79.43402 (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 79001653.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7587131
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.