001-0112

Makemie Monument Park

VLR Listing Date

09/06/2006

NRHP Listing Date

02/15/2007

NRHP Reference Number

07000054

Makemie Monument Park is located on a tributary of Pokomoke Sound on over three and a half acres of grassy parkland, trees, and marsh near Temperanceville in Accomack County. It was named for the most dominating feature in it, a 17-foot-high statue of Francis Makemie, the founder of organized American Presbyterianism. The park also contains a graveyard with the graves of Makemie and his wife Naomi; a plaque to Makemie’s daughter, Anne Makemie Holden, of Revolutionary War fame; and the archaeological remains of what may have been Makemie’s 17th-century house and other colonial-period features. Born in Ireland in 1658, Francis Makemie came to America after his education and was preaching on the Eastern Shore of Virginia by 1685. His 1707 jailing for preaching “pernicious doctrine” and his subsequent acquittal had early and important effects on the struggle for religious freedom. Makemie’s influence on Presbyterianism was profound, as he founded numerous churches up and down the East Coast and wrote a highly praised and popular catechism that unfortunately no longer survives. The Makemie Monument Park was first dedicated in 1908 at an event with over 2,500 attendees from as far away as Philadelphia.

Last Updated: January 29, 2024

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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

For additional information Read

Nomination Form

273-0014

Samuel D. Outlaw Blacksmith Shop

Accomack (County)

296-0001

Saxis Island Historic District

Accomack (County)

001-5158

U.S. Government Lifesaving Stations, Houses of Refuge, and pre-1950 U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboat Stations MPD

(MPD) Multiple Property Document