Saint John's Episcopal Church in Rutherfordton is one of the finest examples of Greek Revival style religious structures in Western North Carolina. Visitors feel they have stepped back in time when they enter the church. Almost all of the original interior remains, including the pews.
Built in 1846, St. John's Episcopal Church is the oldest church structure in Rutherford County. St. John's was an Episcopal Church until 1936, when it was purchased by the Lutheran Synod and became Trinity Lutheran Church, the name by which it is known today. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and is now owned by and serves as the headquarters of the Rutherford County Historical Society.
St. John's Episcopal Church features a low-pitched pediment gable front, large windows in symmetrically molded frames with corner blocks, and a square louvered belfry under a low pyramidal roof.