First Presbyterian Church of De Graff Burns, Kansas
National Register of Historic Places Data
First Presbyterian Church of De Graff has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places with the following information, which has been imported from the National Register database and/or the Nomination Form. Please note that not all available data may be shown here, minor errors and/or formatting may have occurred during transcription, and some information may have become outdated since listing.
- National Register ID
- 14000346
- Date Listed
- June 27, 2014
- Name
- First Presbyterian Church of De Graff
- Other Names
- De Graff Presbyterian Church; De Graff Community Church; De Graff United Presbyterian Church; KHRI # 015-793
- Part of
- N/A (Multiple Property Submission)
- Address
- 1145 NW. 108th St.
- City/Town
- Burns
- County
- Butler
- State
- Kansas
- Category
- building
- Level of Sig.
- local
- Areas of Sig.
- ARCHITECTURE
Description
Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.
The former First Presbyterian Church of De Graff is nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for its local significance in the area of Architecture. Built circa 1903, this building reflects a vernacular interpretation of the Gothic Revival style executed in wood materials and structure - also commonly referred to as Carpenter Gothic. The building features a cross-gable plan with a corner tower entrance and decorative window and gable ornament somewhat common in rural church architecture of this period. These features also are reflective of the Queen Anne architectural style that was popular in the late 19th century romantic movement. It was one of only two Presbyterian churches in the local region. This was the only church erected in De Graff and one of the settlement's few remaining original buildings. In its heyday in the early 20th century, De Graff was a major cattle off- loading rail head. This rail spur was part of an effort to expand the railroad throughout Kansas and also was a vital entryway for local and regional ranchers to gain access to the Flint Hills, the native grasslands of Kansas. The rail spur accessing this region was named the Florence, El Dorado & Walnut Valley Railway, (FE & WV Railway) spur of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (AT & SF Railroad).
