Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery Explained

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
Nrhp Type:hd
Nocat:yes
Designated Other1:Virginia Landmarks Register
Designated Other1 Date:April 19, 1977[1]
Designated Other1 Number:098-0028
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom
Location:NW of Speedwell, near Speedwell, Virginia
Coordinates:36.8411°N -81.2228°W
Built:–1840
Architecture:Germanic
Added:February 1, 1979
Refnum:79003099

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery is a historic Evangelical Lutheran cemetery and national historic district located near Speedwell, Wythe County, Virginia. The cemetery includes approximately 250–300 total gravestones. Forty two of the stones have dates ranging from the 1790s to 1840, but all were carved between about 1835 to 1840. It is likely that a skilled carver moved to the area in the mid-1830s and provided stones for many graves, which formerly had been marked with improvised stone or wooden markers, then completed his work by 1840. The thick sandstone markers are Germanic stones with surviving inscriptions.[2]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 5 June 2013.
  2. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery . Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff. October 1978. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo