Near Simmonsville in Craig County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Gravel Hill Christian Church

Photographed by Mark Parker, January 31, 2025

1. Gravel Hill Christian Church Marker

Inscription. This property has been
Placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1835.

Location. 37° 23.222′ N, 80° 21.594′ W. Marker is near Simmonsville, Virginia, in Craig County. It is on Gravel Hill Road 0.2 miles north of Cumberland Gap Road (Virginia Route 42), on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 197 Gravel Hill Rd, Newport VA 24128, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Mountain Region

and in Southwest Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum

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South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Craig County Poor Farm (approx. 5.2 miles away); Captain (approx. 5.3 miles away); Craig County / Giles County (approx. 6.3 miles away); Bellevue (approx. 6½ miles away); William Addison “Add” Caldwell (approx. 6½ miles away); Audie Murphy Monument (approx. 7½ miles away); Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (approx. 8.6 miles away); Great Eastern Divide (approx. 8.9 miles away).

Regarding Gravel Hill Christian Church. Excerpts from the Gravel Hill Christian Church Nomination Form:

Gravel Hill Christian Church, located in Craig County, Virginia, was built ca. 1855 to serve churchgoers in the county’s scenic Sinking Creek Valley. Carpenter Adam Smith built the simple frame building, which replaced a ca. 1827 log meeting house. Around 1900 an ornate entry/bell tower was added and the church was refurbished inside and out. It stands today as a well preserved example of the county’s simple but elegant traditional rural churches, which are typified by a rectangular footprint, symmetrical fenestration,
Photographed by Mark Parker, January 31, 2025

2. Gravel Hill Christian Church sign
a centered entry on the gable end façade, Victorian-era decorative elements, and an interior plan consisting of a vestibule and sanctuary.

In the 1830s, a fervent young minister named Dr. Chester Bullard (1809-93), based in Snowville in Pulaski County, began to organize Christian Church congregations in Southwest Virginia. He formally organized the Antioch churchgoers as a Christian Church congregation in 1835, a year the congregation thereafter marked as the date of its founding. Though based elsewhere, Bullard made the Craig County area and specifically Antioch/Gravel Hill a special focus. According to a 1959 history of the Christian Church in Virginia, by 1836 six churches including Gravel Hill were associated with the “Bullard Movement.”

Also see . . .
1. Gravel Hill Christian Church. Virginia Department of Historic Resources page

Gravel Hill Christian Church is located on a spur of Gravel Hill overlooking the village of Simmonsville in western Craig County, and affording views of the Sinking Creek Valley and surrounding ridgelines. The simple frame building, which replaced a ca. 1827 log meeting house, dates to circa
Photographed by Mark Parker, January 31, 2025

3. Gravel Hill Christian Church. Marker is on the right door of the entrance
1855. Around 1900 an ornate entry/bell tower was added and the church was refurbished inside and out. Gravel Hill Christian Church stands today as a well-preserved example of the county’s simple but elegant traditional rural churches, which are typified by a rectangular footprint, symmetrical fenestration, a centered entry on the gable end façade, and Victorian-era decorative elements.

(Submitted on January 31, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina.)

2. Gravel Hill Christian Church Nomination Form (pdf). Form prepared by J. Daniel Pezzoni, Landmark Preservation Associates, Lexington, VA, 2022 (Submitted on January 31, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina.)

Full view of Gravel Hill Christian Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, January 31, 2025

4. Full view of Gravel Hill Christian Church

Overlooking the village of Simmonsville from the church property image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, January 31, 2025

5. Overlooking the village of Simmonsville from the church property

Overlook from rear of Gravel Hill Christian Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, January 31, 2025

6. Overlook from rear of Gravel Hill Christian Church

Credits. This page was last revised on February 6, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 31, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 242 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on January 31, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.