Graced by an able design, Christ Episcopal Church in the Wise County town of Big Stone Gap 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 Big Stone Gap, then 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.
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
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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