Originally known as Goodson Baptist Church, First Baptist Church in the city of Bristol was organized in 1859. Constructed in 1912 on a site occupied successively by two previous church buildings, the current First Baptist Church is significant for its architecture. Designed by prolific local architect Clarence Baker Kearfott in 1911, the church is among the most sophisticated examples of the Classical Revival style in southwestern Virginia. Through its use of symmetry, classical decorative motifs, and durable masonry materials, the design pays homage to the building traditions of ancient Greece and Rome as well as later interpretations by proponents such as Thomas Jefferson. One of several large churches built along State Street in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, First Baptist is now the only remaining church building on either side of the street. Urban renewal in the 1960s and early 1970s culminated in the destruction of most of the others, nearly all of which were Gothic Revival designs. An educational wing was added to the First Baptist Church building in 1964.
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
Programs
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