Graced by an able design, Christ Episcopal Church reflects the attention to architectural character usually found in late Victorian Episcopal churches, both large and small. The design was supplied by Baltimore architect T. Buckler Ghequiere, whose skill at adapting the Gothic style to small wooden buildings is also evident in St. Stephen’s Church, Northumberland County. Completed in 1892, Christ Church served the well-to-do citizens of the Wise County town of Big Stone Gap, a newly laid-out boom town in the coalfields of Southwest Virginia. With its vaulted interior sheathed in tongue-and-groove boards, Christ Episcopal Church shows the influence of the British Arts and Crafts movement. Insufficient funds prevented the exterior from being painted its intended dark straw color so a parishioner donated leftover red barn paint. His family continues the regular donation of red paint for the exterior to this day.