McDowell Presbyterian Church

Built for a congregation organized in 1822, this church is a simple rectangular gable-roofed building with Flemish bond brickwork at the front and American bond at the sides and rear. The open belfry with a pyramidal roof probably dates from the late nineteenth century. A stained glass transom and sidelights frame the double-door entrance, above which are paired windows, and a round window with curvilinear tracery is in the gable. The stained glass windows mostly date from the early twentieth century. Used as a field hospital by both Confederate and Union forces during and after the Battle of McDowell, the church suffered some damage as a result of this Civil War engagement that took place a short distance to the east. A cemetery across the road from the church contains numerous unmarked graves of soldiers who died as a result of the battle. In the late nineteenth century, several small chapels, outposts of the church, were established in more rural locations in the region. Only Headwaters Chapel at Head Waters (U.S. 250, 6 miles east of McDowell) survives in use. It is a charming small white-painted wooden building with a cupola.