Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
Location NW of Speedwell, near Speedwell, Virginia
Coordinates 36°50′28″N 81°13′21″W / 36.84111°N 81.22250°WCoordinates: 36°50′28″N 81°13′21″W / 36.84111°N 81.22250°W
Area 3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built 1835-1840
Architectural style Germanic
Governing body Private
NRHP Reference # 79003099[1]
VLR # 098-0028
Significant dates
Added to NRHP February 1, 1979
Designated VLR April 19, 1977[2]

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.[3]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
  2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (October 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo