Maury County’s African American History A Driving Tour
Maury County’s African American HistoryA Driving Tour
Maury County’s African American HistoryA Driving TourFor more than 200 years, African Americans haveshaped Maury County history. At first, thousandsof enslaved Tennesseans carried out demandingtasks in the fields, in the house, or in the trades asskilled craftsmen. They made clothes, tools, wagonwheels, and many other artisan goods sold bothin Maury County and across the region. A smallnumber of free blacks carried out their own livesin an age of slavery. They established churches,cemeteries, and businesses. With emancipationand the end of slavery, African Americans rushedto create many more churches, schools, lodges,businesses, and cemeteries.These historic places and community institutionsare everywhere across the county. They are livingtestaments to the change that occurred acrossTennessee during the Civil War and Reconstructionyears. These historic places are also powerfulreminders of the significance of African Americanhistory in Maury County in the past and itscontinued importance today.This tour starts in downtown Columbia, where alarge free black population existed even before theCivil War. Here just north of the town square, lastingAfrican American institutions first formed.Unless the properties are open to the public, pleaserespect property rights and view these places fromthe sidewalk or roadside.(NR): Listed in the National Register of Historic Places2 3
Downtown ColumbiaA.J. Morton & SonFuneral Home115 E. 8th St, ColumbiaIn the post-Civil WarSouth, funeral homeswere among the earliestAfrican Americanbusinesses. J.M. Morton opened his undertakingbusiness in September 1891. Following his deathin 1899, his widow Clara and his son Andrewcontinued what was already a communityinstitution. The property is also associatedwith the Columbia Riot of 1946. Local AfricanAmerican residents gathered here to protect theirneighborhood in the aftermath of the violence thatrocked Columbia following an altercation betweena white business owner and an African Americanveteran, James Stephenson.First MissionaryBaptist Church117 E. 8th St,ColumbiaBaalim Friersonorganized FirstMissionaryBaptist before1882 followinga disagreementwith Mt. LebanonMissionary BaptistChurch. Afterpurchasing thepresent site, thecongregation built a church under the leadership ofRev. E. M. Smith. The present sanctuary (c. 1914)is a beautiful, one-and-a-half-story, brick buildingin the vernacular Romanesque style, as it hasflanking square towers with battlements and roundarched windows.4 Holy ComforterEpiscopal Church126 E. 8th St, ColumbiaIn June 1891, T.J.Brown, a student fromNashville, establishedthe black Episcopalchurch in Columbiaand later in Octoberpresented the firstconfirmation class toBishop Charles ToddQuintard. St. Peter’sEpiscopal Church officially organized the HolyComforter Episcopal Church in 1892. This buildingdates to c. 1898. The Independent Band of Hopeonce operated an African American nursery schoolat the parish house. Services continued at HolyComforter Episcopal Church until the 1960s.Thebuilding was sold in 1973 and is now the home ofthe Roundtree, Napier, and Ogilvie Funeral Home.Mt. LebanonMissionary BaptistChurch (NR)218 E. 8th St, ColumbiaBefore 1840, a smallgroup of AfricanAmericans attendedservices at the whiteFirst Baptist Churchin Columbia. Unableto participate fully inservices and allowedonly the balcony, the group decided to form theirown congregation. In October 1843, Rev. ElijahHanks, the white minister of First Baptist, met withseven African Americans: Rev. Edmond Kelley, Rev.Richard Sanderson, Dyer Johnson, Reuben Polk,Dempsey Cherry, Anna Cherry, and Eliza Webster.This meeting established Mt. Lebanon MissionaryBaptist Church. Rev. Kelley remained pastor until1845, at which time he became a missionaryunder the Concord Baptist Association. Historiansconsider Mt. Lebanon the “oldest National BaptistChurch in Tennessee.” 5
Mt. Calvary MissionaryBaptist Church312 East 8th St,ColumbiaFormer members of Mt.Lebanon MissionaryBaptist Churchestablished Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist in 1918.The congregation initially met in the old A.M.E.Church building located on East 8th Street and GladeStreet. Rev. John Gilmore served as the first pastor.Apostolic Faith Church/Pentecostal LighthouseChurch/Potter’s House416 East 8th St, ColumbiaEstablished in 1938 andled by a woman, AzoraEffie Berry, the ApostolicFaith Church is one of theapostolic churches acrossthe region that encouragedactive participation ofwomen in the church. Thecongregation rebuilt thechurch in in 1946. Mrs. Berry remained the pastor ofthe church at least through the early 1950s.East 8th StreetChurch of God419 E. 8th St, ColumbiaElder Charles Gray,Elder Nicholson,and Elder Connickorganized the East8th Street Church of God in c. 1900 as part of thePentecostal tide wave that swept through blackchurches at the turn of the 20th century. Nicholson,a former pastor at Mt. Lebanon Missionary Baptist,left that church to establish this foundational Churchof God congregation. The congregation worshippedin the home of Edith Howard until purchasing landand building the first church in 1900.6 Hannaway Street Original Church of God507 Hannaway St, ColumbiaElder Charles W. Gray, who moved with his familyto Tennessee as a child in the 1860s, establishedthree Pentecostal congregations in Maury County:the Church of God Sanctified and HannawayStreet Original Church of God, both in Columbia,and Railroad Street Original Church of God inMt. Pleasant. Elder Floyd D. Flippin and SisterCorinne Smith played key roles in launching thiscongregation. Later, Elder R. L. Secrest, ElderRaymond Booker, and Sister Eddie Lee Patton led theeffort to build a larger church building.Maury County ColoredHospital Marker506 East 7th St, ColumbiaEstablished in 1923 by Dr. C.E.Jones, Rev. W.H. Lampley,and others, the Maury CountyColored Hospital served theAfrican American citizens ofMaury and the surroundingcounties. Although beset by financial and staffingdifficulties during World War II, the hospital remainedin operation until the opening of Maury RegionalHospital in 1954. A historic marker indicates theformer spot of the hospital. 7
Rosemount CemeteryGraham Street andHardwick Avenue(adjacent to Rose HillCemetery)Frierson-Johnson Park/Carver-Smith School FieldsEast 10th St at White St, ColumbiaNamed for renowned scientist George WashingtonCarver and Stella Smith, an African AmericanJeanes educational supervisor, Carver-Smith HighSchool opened in 1950. Thousands of AfricanAmericans received their education at the schoolduring its short tenure. In 1968, the Maury CountySchool Board announced plans to integrate thestudents from Carver-Smith High School, movingthem to Columbia Central High School in 1969.Following the closure of the school, a developerconverted the building to apartments. The fields atFrierson-Johnson Park were the site of the footballand track fields for African American youth.College HillSchool1101 Bridge St,ColumbiaEstablishedin 1881 asthe ColoredPublic School,College Hill School educated generations ofAfrican Americans and was a vital part of the localcommunity. The last high school class graduatedin 1949 before Carver-Smith High School opened,and College Hill became an elementary school.The school was expanded in 1958 and 1960, and in1962, the original building was demolished. The siteis now the home of the Horace O. Porter School atCollege Hill.8 Established in 1873,this cemetery is thefinal resting place of many members of Columbia’sAfrican American community. Located next to thesegregated, white Rose Hill Cemetery, this hillsideproperty has many striking grave markers, frommilitary stones for veterans from all American warssince 1861 to folk-carved hand-made markers toelaborate Victorian-style stones.American LegionPost 1701205 East End St,ColumbiaVeterans firstestablished a“colored” branch ofthe American Legionin Columbia in about 1919. In 1955, the group,known as the Hill-Gordon American Legion Post170, requested permission from the Maury Countyzoning board to use the former Maury CountyColored Hospital building as its headquarters. Afire destroyed that property in 1961. In 1968, thepost dedicated its new facility, located near theintersection of East 11th and East End streets.EvergreenMissionaryBaptist Church1201 East End St,ColumbiaThis historiccongregation hasworshipped at this location since 1969 whenmembers contracted Ardis Parker, Sr., to design andbuild the current building. The church began in 1921when former members of Friendship MissionaryBaptist Church created a new congregation, namedin honor of their first minister, Rev. Chester Greene. 9
Bethel A.M.E. Church1125 S. Glade St,ColumbiaBorn into slavery,Rev. Isaiah Gholstonserved as pastor at St.Paul A.M.E. Churchand organized BethelA.M.E. Church in 1889 to provide a place of worshipfor those living in the College Hill community. In1891, construction began on the church, knownthen as Gholston Hall. A Masonic lodge met on thesecond floor of the church. The current buildingdates to 1938, built during the tenure of Rev. W.R.Greenfield, the church’s longest-serving pastor.Morning StarMasonic Lodge #11215 E. 11th St,ColumbiaThe Morning StarMasonic Lodge#11 (Prince HallMasons) dates atleast to 1905, when the group met in the upper storyof Gholston Hall. In the early 20th century, the lodgeoften held functions and events with the local AfricanAmerican Odd Fellows lodge. In 1961, the lodgeerected the current building, and the Masons remainactive participants in the African American community.White Springs UnitedPrimitive Baptist Church124 W 1st St, ColumbiaElder Thomas J.Williamson organized theWhite Springs PrimitiveBaptist Church in 1850.In 1864, the congregation celebrated the 4th of Julyduring the midst of the Civil War. In 1900, a tornadodestroyed the church building. After rebuilding, thecongregation hosted the annual Primitive BaptistAssociation meeting in 1905, and more than 5,000African Americans attended the event. The currentbuilding dates to 1975.10 St. PaulA.M.E. Church405 Church St,ColumbiaLocatedhigh on ahill oppositethe countycourthouse,St. PaulA.M.E. Churchhas long beena prominentAfricanAmericanlandmark. In1840, a groupof African Americans meeting in the basement ofthe Methodist Episcopal Church formed their owncongregation, building a church on the corner ofSecond and Garden streets. In 1867, this groupformed St. Paul A.M.E. Church, and in 1870, thecongregation erected its first building here andbecame a community mainstay, hosting annualEmancipation Day celebrations on the churchgrounds. In 1888, the church opened a schoolfor the neighborhood and later hosted graduationceremonies for the Maury County Turner Normaland Industrial School.Mt. VernonMissionaryBaptist Church808 W. 6th St,ColumbiaIn 1901, a groupfrom the First BaptistChurch established a church in the Happy Hollowneighborhood, meeting in a local home. ElderBuilder of Pulaski held the first revival, and a largenumber of people had their baptism in Bigby Creek.Gus and Malinda White donated land to build apermanent building in c. 1907. The Duck RiverBaptist Association named the congregation Mt.Vernon Missionary Baptist Church soon after. 11
New Smyrna CumberlandPresbyterian Church& Cemetery112 Beech St, ColumbiaThe Smyrna CumberlandPresbyterian Churchin America, located inthe Match community, organized in c. 1874. Thischurch had the distinction of being the only activeand perhaps the first African American CumberlandPresbyterian Church in Maury County.Burns Springs Church of Christ407 W. 9th St, ColumbiaChurches of Christ came late to many southernAfrican American communities. The evangelismof Rev. Marshall Keeble, active during the middledecades of the 20th century, changed that, andMaury County has a number of African AmericanChurch of Christ congregations. Founded inSeptember 1924, this congregation first met ina frame church with temporary pews made byplacing planks across chairs. Brother A. C. Holtlabored with the church in its early years to securea permanent building, which has since beenmodernized periodically.Wayman ChapelA.M.E. Church105 S. Jackson St,ColumbiaOn December 1, 1907,a group purchasedproperty on JacksonStreet from J. M. and M.E. Bates for 270 to build aschoolhouse. The community cooperated in buildingthe school and engaged Mrs. Queenie Friersonto teach the local children. A.M.E. ministers alsoused the building, then known as Lots Chapel, toconduct church services. In 1914, the congregationsold the building and moved to another area inthe community. Later that year, a new church,Wayman Chapel, named in honor of the late BishopAlexander Walker Wayman, was completed.12 Prior to the Civil War, African American Presbyteriansaffiliated with the white Cumberland Presbyterians.In 1868, the denomination’s African Americancongregants requested separation from the whitechurch. While the specific reason for the requestremains unclear, many African American congregationssought religious independence during this time.The request for separation was granted in 1870,and the name changed to the Second CumberlandPresbyterian Church and then to the CumberlandPresbyterian Church in America. Nearly one hundredyears after it was established, the congregationmoved to its current location and renamed itself theNew Smyrna Cumberland Presbyterian Church.Friendship MissionaryBaptist Church & Cemetery291 Wayne St, ColumbiaUnder the leadership of Rev.Sid Foster, members firstworshiped under a brusharbor, located south ofWitherspoon Road on a sitenear Rutherford Creek. In1866, Rev. Foster and otherserected the first building,naming it FriendshipMissionary Baptist Church. A tornado and resultingfloods severely damaged the building in 1921, andthe congregation rebuilt in 1923. In March 1995,Friendship Missionary Baptist Church sustainedapproximately 20,000 in damages from a firebomb.Racial hatred, fueled by alcohol, was the root causeof the arson. The congregation moved to its WayneStreet location in 2000. 13
Mt. Tabor-SalemPresbyterianChurch &Cemetery516 MooresvillePk, ColumbiaIn 1872, African American members of theZion Presbyterian Church requested letters ofdismissal in order to form their own church, SalemPresbyterian. Initially established in the ZionCommunity, former members of the congregationorganized the Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church someyears later. Salem Presbyterian Church burned in1940 and its members joined with the Mt. TaborPresbyterian Church located on Mooresville Pike.Mt. Tabor changed its name to Mt. Tabor-SalemPresbyterian Church. Mt. Tabor-Salem Presbyterianis not an active congregation, but New Zion Churchof God uses the historic property. The historiccemetery associated with Salem Presbyterian islocated at 6947 Old Zion Rd, Columbia. Leaving Columbia and heading towardsCulleokaon Tennessee Highway 50Hopewell A.M.E.Church andCemetery2002 New LewisburgHwy, ColumbiaFounded in 1856,Hopewell African Methodist Episcopal initially wasknown as a little “brush arbor.” Fire destroyed thefirst frame building, and a storm destroyed thesecond structure in 1948. Worshipping in otherchurches, the congregation built the present buildingin 1951. Burials in the Hopewell Cemetery, the finalresting place of several World War I and World WarII veterans, date to the early 1900s.14 Campground CemeteryCemetery Rd, CulleokaThis cemetery has served the white and AfricanAmerican communities for more than one hundredyears. A road in the middle of the cemetery dividesthe white and black burials. Burials in this cemeteryinclude several prominent African Americans in theCulleoka community as well as veterans from theCivil War through the Vietnam War.Fountain CreekUnited PrimitiveBaptist Church2410 Sunrise Ave,CulleokaThis church beganprior to 1840 under theguidance of Elder Elijah Hanks. The early congregationincluded slaves, free blacks, and whites. After theslave question became an issue in Tennessee, thispractice ceased, and the church separated. AfricanAmericans organized as the Fountain Creek UnitedPrimitive Church. Elder Benjamin Abernathy, a U.S.Colored Troops veteran from the Civil War, led thechurch in the 1880s through 1909.On October 12, 1905, the congregation purchaseda lot in Culleoka and members of the congregationbuilt a small church building. The community alsoused the church as a school until the constructionof Rosenwald-funded Culleoka Colored School in1923-1924. The original church structure burned onNov. 11, 1943, and the current cinderblock structuredates to 1944. 15
Fountain CreekMissionaryBaptist Church3019 Collier Lane,Campbell StationFountain CreekMissionary BaptistChurch dates to at least 1902, when it was knownas the First Baptist Church of Fountain Creek, led byRev. Henry Harrison Braden, who was also pastorat the Happy Hill Missionary Baptist Church inLynnville. In 1905, the congregation bought this lotfor the present church building.The church later obtained additional acreage thatincluded the Campbell Station colored public schoolproperty and building. The church remains the onlyblack congregation in this community. Leaving Culleoka and heading west towardsMt. Pleasanton Valley Creek and Southport RoadClarke TrainingSchool MarkerBluegrass Ave, Mt. PleasantThe state historic markerfrom 2005 identifies wherethe community constructedthe “Mt. Pleasant ColoredSchool,” later called theClarke Training School, in the early 1920s. In 1922,the school opened its doors to 350 elementary andhigh school students from the community. Overtime, enrollment grew, and the campus expandedto include more classrooms, a gymnasium, and acafeteria. The 1940s saw the establishment of anathletic program with team sports like track, football,and basketball. In 1969, Clarke graduated its lastclass prior to integration. The school burned in 1971due to suspected arson.16 St. James BrickUnited PrimitiveBaptist Church306 Bluegrass Ave,Mt. PleasantOrganized in 1859,the St. James BrickUnited Primitive Baptist Church is the second churchin Maury County established by the Big HarpethUnited Primitive Baptist Association. The presentgable-front brick sanctuary opened on June 26, 1966.Mt. NeboMissionaryBaptistChurch116 BroadwaySt, Mt. PleasantOrganizedin 1892, theMt. NeboMissionaryBaptist Churchfaces Bluegrass Ave. Rebuilt in 1928, with stuccofinishing dating to c. 1990, the outline of the originalentrance on Bluegrass Avenue remains visible.A landmark building in the town’s historic AfricanAmerican business district, the church has hostedreligious and community gatherings for more than100 years.St. JamesPrimitive BaptistChurch305 E Cooper St,Mt. PleasantEstablished in1908, the St.James Primitive Baptist Church appears as earlyas 1910 on the Sanborn Insurance maps for MountPleasant. These early maps list the location as botha church and a school. The current building is fromthe mid-20th century and features a pedimentedentrance and a short bell tower. 17
Original Church of God315 Railroad St, Mt. PleasantElder Charles W. Gray beganpreaching in Maury Countyin 1900 and established anumber of county churches,including the Original Churchof God in Mt. Pleasant that faced the town’s railroadtracks. Under the leadership of Pastor Flippin, thecongregation rebuilt the church in 1954.West PointMissionaryBaptist Church105 East CooperSt, Mt. PleasantIn 1890, PastorSaul Evans organized West Point Missionary BaptistChurch, which initially held services in a tent nearShiloh Cemetery on Dog Branch Road. In 1891,Deacon Henry and Ella Harland deeded a plot ofland in Mt. Pleasant and a new frame church wasbuilt. In 1945, a concrete-block sanctuary replacedthe first church. This historic building still standstoday. In 1980, the congregation constructed abuilding at the new location on East Co
#11 (Prince Hall Masons) dates at least to 1905, when the group met in the upper story of Gholston Hall. In the early 20th century, the lodge often held functions and events with the local African American Odd Fellows lodge. In 1961, the lodge erected the current building, and the Masons remain active partici
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African-Americans in the Early Twentieth Century 1895-1928 Third Written Paper on African American Writing Assignment due April 9 by 11:50 p.m. Week 11: The African-American Odyssey 17. African Americans and the 1920s 1918-1929 Week 12: The African-American Odyssey 18. Black Protest, the Grea
that student populations across the state are 51.8% Hispanic, 29.4% Anglo, 12.7% African American and 3.7% Asian. Texas has 1,025 school districts, of which 27 are African American superintendents and 7 are female African American. Current Trends Currently, the issues of African American men in school leadership may seem somewhat outdated.
9. Increase attendance and reduce absenteeism rates for African American/Black students 10. Increase the rate of freshman on-track for African American/Black students 11. Increase graduation rates for African American/Black Students 12. Increase the post-secondary enrollment rates of African American/Black students high school
The Virtual Academy of Maury ounty (VAM provides online educational experiences for students in grades 7-12 that reside within the county lines. All courses are led by Tennessee-certified teachers and are aligned to the Tennessee urriculum Frame-work and ommon ore. Virtual learners will earn grades and credits (22) as they would in a .
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Judd Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust and private land owners (through King Conservation District) Culvert replacement 2007-2010 Judd, 216th, 204th, 111th; Shinglemill-Cedarhurst. King County Roads Log Restoration and plantings 2007-ongoing Shinglemill, Needle Creek drainage Vashon Maury Island Land Tru
