Gaston Chapel
Why it's listed
Gaston Chapel is a brick church on Bouchelle Street in Morganton, built between 1900 and 1911 for an African Methodist Episcopal congregation. It is the oldest surviving Black church building in Burke County and the first substantial one. Members of the congregation, many of them skilled carpenters and bricklayers, supplied much of the labor, and the bricks were apparently made on the site. Construction was slow because of financial troubles, including the failure of a local bank. The design is a restrained version of Gothic church architecture with Romanesque touches, shown in its crenellated towers of unequal height, pointed-arch stained-glass windows and brick buttresses. It follows the pattern of white churches built in Morganton during the 1890s. The congregation grew out of Black Methodist groups formed after the Civil War, when Black worshipers left or were pushed out of established white churches. The chapel has remained a center of worship, education and social clubs, and it has the largest A.M.E. membership in the county.
Significance in brief: It is the oldest surviving and first substantial Black church building in Burke County. Its design, a simplified ecclesiastical Gothic with Romanesque influences, follows that of white churches built in Morganton in the 1890s. It is tied to the organization of Black congregations after the Civil War and has long been a religious and social center for the Black community.
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 84000077, listed October 11, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 100 Bouchelle St., Morganton |
|---|---|
| County | Burke County |
| Listed | October 11, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84000077 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900-11 |
| Architectural style | Ecclesiastical Gothic with Romanesque references |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Black, Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and in generally good condition, retaining most of its original exterior and interior fabric; still used by an active congregation. |
| Acreage | 0.6 |
| Within district | Morganton Downtown Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.74753, -81.68697 (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 84000077.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5526716
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.