Emanuel Reformed Church (1913)
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This church building stands just north of the Lincolnton Post Office, across East Main Street. The origins of Emanuel Reformed Church, which is housed in a 1913 Gothic Revival structure, go back to the earliest days of organized worship in Lincolnton at the first Emanuels Church, commonly known as the Old White Church. As mother church to most of Lincolnton's congregations, the Old White Church was home to the combined Lutheran and Reformed congregations when it burned in 1893. The Lutherans built a new church on the site, but the Reformed congregation, which reorganized in 1910, was without its own building until 1913. The Gothic Revival style Emanuel Reformed Church was designed by Wilmington architect, Henry E. Bonitz.
On April 20, 1991, lightning struck the church building. Fire destroyed most of the roof and damaged the northeast wall and part of the interior woodwork. Most of the pews were damaged or burned when the roof collapsed inward: they were repaired, refinished, and returned to use in the church. Rather than abandon the site of the first and only Reformed church erected in Lincolnton, the congregation determined to restore the church and remain at this site. Cherryville architect James L. Beam, Jr. prepared the drawings for the restoration, and the restoration construction work was completed by Howard Construction Company of Lincolnton. The first services in the newly-restored church were held on Easter Sunday, April 19, 1992.
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