Murphy in Cherokee County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery
Warren LeMay via Flickr/Public domain, January 8, 2019
1. Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery Marker
the National Register of Historic Places
by the
U.S. Department of the Interior
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Churches & Religion. A significant historical year for this entry is 1869.
Location. 35° 5.126′ N, 84° 2.015′ W. Marker is in Murphy, North Carolina, in Cherokee County. Marker is at the intersection of Church Street and Sneed Road, on the right when traveling south on Church Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 150 Church St, Murphy NC 28906, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Nuya Saligugi (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Water Powered 500 Pound Hammer (about 500 feet away); Cherokee Heritage Trails (about 500 feet away); Prison Cell Door (about 500 feet away); Unicoi Turnpike Trail (about 500 feet away); Cherokee War (approx. 0.2 miles away); 60 Sons of North Carolina (approx. 0.2 miles away); Cherokee County Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Murphy.
Regarding Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery. Excerpt from the National Register nomination:
Harshaw Chapel is a small vernacular Greek Revival brick church built during the 1860s forthe first Methodist congregation in Murphy, North Carolina. The church building was donated by Joshua Harshaw, a prominent early settler in the county. The site of the church and surrounding cemetery had been donated by Harshaw in 1844, land he had purchased six years previously in the Indian land sales. The small church was replaced by the congregation in the 1920s, and its subsequent survival is remarkable in that it has received little use since. It is the oldest church building in Cherokee County, and is the oldest structure surviving relatively intact in Murphy. Harshaw Chapel is also the sole surviving example of mid-nineteenth century brick architecture in the county. The church is surrounded by a cemetery, containing the graves of many locally prominent citizens and a collection of notable Victorian grave markers. Among the graves is that of Abram Enloe, subject of a North Carolina folk tradition concerning the parentage of Abraham Lincoln.
Click or scan to see
this page online
Also see . . .
1. The Curious Paternity of Abraham Lincoln (PDF). Docslib website entry:
(Great Smoky Mountains Colloquy, The University of Tennessee Libraries, Spring 2008 edition):
The confusion over Honest Abe's father all began with an anonymously written article that appeared in The Charlotte Observer in 1893 and snowballed from there. (Submitted on December 5, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Warren LeMay via Flickr/Public domain, January 8, 2019
2. Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery Marker
2. Harshaw Chapel. Murphy First United Methodist Church website entry:
Background on the church and the man who donated it. (Submitted on December 5, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Warren LeMay via Flickr/Public domain, January 8, 2019
3. Harshaw Chapel cornerstone
It reads:
I, Joshua Harsaw,
do make a free will gift of this house
to the Methodist Episcopal Church South
at Murphy N.C.
this May 1, 1869.
do make a free will gift of this house
to the Methodist Episcopal Church South
at Murphy N.C.
this May 1, 1869.
via NPS, unknown
4. Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on July 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 5, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 378 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 5, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 4. submitted on December 23, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.
