For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/20/1977
NRHP Listing Date 03/26/1980
NPS property number 80004231
On a steep hillside looking over the countryside and mountains of western Wythe County, this early burying ground has a large collection of traditional German gravestones. Approximately fifty monuments date from the period 1800-1850 and are embellished, in most instances, with a single, high-relief motif-a heart, a cross, a six-pointed star, or some vegetal form-nearly always framed by a double band. Most of the inscriptions are in English, illustrating the acculturation of the German settlers. The use of these distinctly German-style gravestones halted in the 1850s; those erected from then on are indistinguishable from those in non-German cemeteries. The present twin-towered church, dating from 1913, is the third on the site.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated April 4, 2018
