In 1727 brothers, George Valentine and John Ludwig Clapp (Klapp, in German) arrived in the port of Philadelphia from their home in Hesse, Germany. After several years they moved south to the area that is now Guilford County, purchased land and were soon joined by other settlers that also migrated from Germany. As a community they built a school house not only for the education of their children but also to serve as a meeting place for church services. In 1785 construction was finished on a log meeting house on the property near the school and the Clapp home. The church became known as “the Clapp Church” or in German, “Der Klapp Kirche.” As the congregation grew, a new church was needed and construction began on the second church in 1813. Material for this church consisted of handmade brick from a local clay pit. Brick buildings were rare in this area so the name “Clapp Church” gradually changed to “the Brick Church”. A German Reformed Church, Old Brick Church was in use until the mid-1950s when services were moved to the new church building on the same property. In 1998 restoration of this landmark was completed and in 1999 it received the Gertrude Carraway Award from the NC Preservation Society. The church is located on Holts Store Road in Whitsett, NC |
