Jamesville Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery
Also known as: Jamesville Women's Club
Why it's listed
This small frame church on NC 171 in Jamesville served Primitive Baptists for decades before becoming a women's clubhouse. Built between 1865 and 1870 on land given by Clayton Moore, a wealthy planter and church elder who appears to have built it himself, it replaced the congregation's earlier Picot meeting house. Moore's plantation home had been burned by Union troops during the Civil War, and he promised the congregation a new church in exchange for the old one. The building is a rectangular, gable-front structure with weatherboard siding, a standing seam tin roof, two front entrances, a louvered gable vent and a boxed cornice with returns. Services continued until the early 1950s. In 1953 the last deacon gave the church and lot to the Jamesville Women's Club, which converted the rear into a kitchen and bathroom and still maintains it. A cemetery behind the church holds Moore and congregation members and is owned by Moore's descendants.
Significance in brief: The nomination ties the building to the history of the Primitive Baptists and the religious life of Jamesville from about 1865 to 1953. It is also linked to Clayton Moore, a wealthy planter and Primitive Baptist minister. It is argued to be a well-preserved example of a vernacular gable-front rural church with double entrances and a boxed cornice with returns.
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 84000556, listed December 20, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | E side of NC 171, Jamesville |
|---|---|
| County | Martin County |
| Listed | December 20, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84000556 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown (Clayton Moore appears to be the builder) |
| Architectural style | Vernacular gable-front rural church form |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and used as the headquarters of the Jamesville Women's Club, which acquired it in 1953; the exterior is described as well preserved, with interior alterations. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Coordinates | 35.80992, -76.89716 (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 84000556.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14707989
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.