Date Congregation Founded:
Date Present Church Building Built:
Unknown
1879
County:
Mason
Founding Denomination:
Evang.
United Brethren
USGS Quad:
Elmwood
Condition of church building/grounds**:
Abandoned
(October 2004)
Coordinates:
38.7369ºN
81.8176ºW
Preservation Outlook:
Hopeful
- no major damage or deterioration to the structure... quite
restorable
Maintained by:
Not
maintained
Construction:
Stick
frame
Property owner:
Rock
Castle Church Congregation
Date added to WVCPA register:
October
2004
Data Updated: 26 October 2012
Accessibility:
Fairly
easily accessible in dry weather (the road runs at creek level in a
number of places, and could get pretty wet and muddy in bad
weather).
Located north of Rockcastle in Jackson Co. (Rockcastle used to be in
Mason Co.). The route we took to get to the church was from
Deerlick in Mason Co., following upstream along Thirteenmile
Creek. The church is near the road, just up a short rocky
slope.
** Condition of church
building and grounds as observed on the given date - may not be
representative of care at other times of the year Scale:
Excellent - Good - Fair - Poor - Abandoned
Click thumbnail photos below to
enlarge
Still visible, though
faint:
Rock Castle
Church
Ded.
Nov. 2, 1879
The following information can be found on the back of a
commemorative china plate:
1. The church site was donated by John Sayre
2. Those who donated labor were: John Stone and sons, Samuel Pleasant
Stover and sons, William Cain and sons, and the sons of Leroy
Morrison
3. Part of the lumber was whip-sawed
4. The carpenters were J. P. Dunham and Robert Sayre. William Cain furnished
shingles for the roof
5. The Church was dedicated November 2, 1879
6. The first trustees were Johnny (John Wesley) Stone and Jess (Jessie)
Dunham¹
"I believe that the first time I ever heard "I'll Fly Away" was at the
Rock Castle Church Homecoming. I believe the date was August, 1953. The congregation sang with so much gusto that it seemed that the roof would come off of the church building."
~ Rev. Okey King,
1998
Above
three images taken from the northwest, east, and southwest side of
the church, respectively
These
photos donated by Tracy Cain, who also photo-documented the Rock
Castle Church Cemetery, located on the
hill just to the north of the church (that is why these photos are
marked "Rock Castle Church Cemetery"!). To visit our
Rockcastle Church Cemetery page, Click
Here
Above
three images taken from the inside of the church
In the center photo, you can see a little of the ceiling and how
good its condition is, despite its age
¹Information
from the
research of local historian Okey King on his website at
http://www.okeylwva.com/rcchurch.html
- at the
bottom of Okey's Rock Castle Church Page, click on the "Smitten"
link for a great tale of days gone by where Rock Castle Church played
a central role
Comments:
We would love to add old
photos of this church - particularly from the time it was in active
use. Does anyone have any more
history of this congregation to share, or any information on its
current ownership and future? Contact us at .