The importance of spiritual nourishment in rural America is manifest in the plethora of small wooden churches dotting the nation’s villages and countryside. These churches, especially those erected in the earnest decades of the late 19th century, are endowed with an austere dignity reflecting the demeanor of the mainly Protestant denominations they served. The 1896 Graysontown Methodist Church, with its plain rectangular sanctuary enlivened by “American Gothic” windows, typifies the country-church aesthetic. It achieves heightened presence, however, with its shingled vestibule and bracketed tower. At its dedication service, the church was called “truly a light house [sic] and soul saving station . . .” Built by Brother Cook and members of the congregation, the Graysontown Methodist Church was constructed using mainly donated materials. Declining membership led the Methodist Conference to close the church in 1976. The building was then purchased by local citizens for use as an interdenominational church.
The Graysontown Methodist Church was listed in the registers under the Prehistoric and Historic Resources of Montgomery County MPD.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia