Near Lexington in Davidson County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Beck's Reformed Church Cemetery
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 13, 2023
1. Beck's Reformed Church Cemetery Marker
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Cemeteries & Burial Sites. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1771.
Location. 35° 45.495′ N, 80° 13.565′ W. Marker is near Lexington, North Carolina, in Davidson County. Marker is on Becks Church Road, ¼ mile north of Homestead Drive, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2845 Becks Church Rd, Lexington NC 27292, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Beck's Reformed Church (here, next to this marker); Captain Peter Hedrick (within shouting distance of this marker); In Memory of John Beck, Sr. (within shouting distance of this marker); Beck's United Church of Christ Veterans Memorial (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Wm. Rainey Holt (approx. 4.7 miles away); The Homestead (approx. 4.7 miles away); First Reformed Church (approx. 4.7 miles away); St. Stephen United Methodist Church (approx. 4.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lexington.
Regarding Beck's Reformed Church Cemetery.
this page online
Beck's Reformed Church Cemetery is a large cemetery, containing approximately 500 gravestones, located a few miles southeast of Lexington. The earliest of the some 75 gravestones which are of local manufacture is dated 1771. The cemetery contains a larger number of gravestones from the "Early Phase" of gravestone design than any other cemetery in the county. These date from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and represent the traditional German design idiom, with splayed sides and monogrammed or dated semicircular tympana. Most of these are small, amateurish gravestones probably carved by family members of the deceased. This is the only early Lutheran congregation in south Davidson County, and, like Emanuel Church, it was outside of the sphere of influence of the most talented stonecutting workshops.
Also see . . .
1. Beck's Reformed Church Cemetery (PDF). National Register nomination for the cemetery, which was listed in 1984. (Prepared by Ruth Little; via North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office) (Submitted on January 6, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
2. Becks Reformed Church Cemetery. Find a Grave entry on the historic burial ground. (Submitted on January 6, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 13, 2023
2. Beck's Reformed Church Cemetery Marker
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 13, 2023
3. Beck's Reformed Church Cemetery
The cemetery is noted for the styles of its early gravestones, including "pierced," Swisegood School, and semicircular monogrammed tympanum.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 13, 2023
4. Peter Washington Smith (1790-1830) gravestone
This pierced tombstone is carved in the Swisegood School style, named after a renowned family of North Carolina cabinetmakers. It is one of the rarest styles of carved funerary art.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 6, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 6, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 59 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 6, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
