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St. Paul AME Church, Alcoa: site survey report

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Title	St. Paul AME Church, Alcoa: site survey report
Date	1998-6-22
Coverage	1990-1999
Property name	St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, Alcoa
Property type	Church
Community Name	Alcoa, Blount County,TN
Latitude/Longitude	35.780059,-83.981567
Description	Site survey report for St. Paul AME Alcoa. Report details the church's construction and architectural information, listing specific building periods.
Historical Notes	The history of St.Paul AME Church in Alcoa, TN dates to 1910, when the Aluminum Company of America initiated land purchases along the Little Tennessee River. After the Southern Railroad's line extension from Chilhowee to what is now Alcoa, the Aluminum Company of America was able to follow through with plans for a plant in the new town of Alcoa. At the end of World War II, African Americans migrated from the Deep South to Blount County for employment and settled in the "Black Bottom" part of Alcoa. As African Americans started to form a permanent community in Alcoa, they organized an AME church that met initially in homes. The church members decided to request Aluminum Company Superintendent Glascock's assistance in building a church. Glascock agreed, after receiving a letter from Mrs. Lillie Bruton, and a church-planning committee was formed. As part of the agreement with Superintendent Glascock, the Aluminum Company provided building materials for a temporary dwelling; thus, by late 1918, the AME Church of Alcoa established a place of worship in a one-room building on Rankin RD, part of the South Hall community. The congregation quickly outgrew the dwelling and the Aluminum Company provided them with a larger, four-room house on Howell Street. In this new location, the AME Conference sent Reverend T. W. West to serve as the pastor. Eventually, as the congregation increased, the church moved to a site on the northeast corner of Edison Street and the southeast corner of Bell Street. The church officially changed its named to St. Paul AME Church at the time of the building's erection in 1921. During the 1920s, the congregation boasted four hundred members. Further work was done on the building over the next few decades. In 1985, the Alcoa City Commission honored the church for its restoration work. At the time of fieldwork, Reverend George L. Byrd served as pastor. During Byrd's tenure, the church underwent a series of repairs and updates. These included rest room and dining room renovations, sanctuary paneling, window refinishing, the church roof replacement, parking lot repairs, landscaping, and the painting of the steps, foundation, trim and window frames. Byrd was also instrumental in convincing the City of Alcoa to install a new sewage system in the community. In 1998, the church was deemed eligible for the National Register.
Collection Name	African American Churches
Subject-LCSH	African American churches
Subject-AAT	Surveys Reports
Type	Text
Format	application/pdf
Medium	Paper
Extent	2 p.; 8.5 x 11 in.
Copyright status	Copyright of the creator. Reproduced with permission
Conditions for use	Credit Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University Reproduction permitted for non-profit educational and research purposes only
Digital Publisher	Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University
Contributing Institution	Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University
Source file	P_StPaulAMEALCOA_020.pdf

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