This is St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Randleman, which is maintained by the North Randolph Historical Society. According to the Randolph History Blog, it was opened as a museum in 1967 housing a small assortment of items from generations past.

According to one of the society members, the church occupied the building till the late 1940’s. The building was constructed in 1879, and the bricks were made on site. It was one of the first brick buildings in Randolph County.

I was surprised at how the cemetery behind the church is much larger than it appears to be from the road. Another surprising feature of the church are the designs painted on the interior walls.

An artist by the name of Jule Gilmer Körner was commissioned to paint various designs such as columns and stained glass windows on the inside of the church. Körner was not only a painter, but a talented designer, decorator and engineer. He is better known for another project on a much larger scale called “Körner’s Folly“, located in Kernersville. ~MB

Photographic Notes:
Apple iPhone 4S. All images © Matt Bennett Photography.