Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 07/19/1977
NRHP Listing Date 01/26/1978
NRHP Reference Number 78003034
Tucked deep in the woods of New Kent County, Olivet Presbyterian Church shows the effectiveness of the Greek Revival style in its most elementary form. The otherwise spartan wooden church is in a temple form and is fronted by a simple Doric portico. Its unchanged interior preserves doors and pews decorated with their original mahogany and bird’s eye maple graining. The pulpit is set off by marbleized steps. Presbyterians came to New Kent County in the mid-18th-century. By 1800 a congregation was meeting in the colonial St. Peter’s Church, which by then had been abandoned by the Episcopalians. In 1857 they decided to erect their own church nearby, calling it Mount Olivet and later merely Olivet. The congregation relocated to Providence Forge in 1934, but preserves the original Olivet Presbyterian Church for annual memorial services.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: April 23, 2023
