Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church
About this property
Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church is a historic Christian Methodist Episcopal church located at 1137 West Street in Parkville, Platte County, Missouri. It was built in 1907, and is a two-story, rectangular, Late Gothic Revival style native limestone building. It has a gable roof and features a castellated corner tower and projecting bays. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. After the Platte Purchase Treaty was ratified, White settlers and the people they enslaved began to arrive in Platte County, Missouri, which includes to Parkville. In conditions and values that mirrored the South, these African Americans grew and harvested labor-intensive hemp, which fostered a rapid economic and population increase. By 1860, Blacks comprised nearly one-quarter of Platte County's population. At the time, enslaved people were not allowed to assemble, not even for religious reason, and only in extremely rare cases were they allowed to become full members of White churches. Before the Civil War, Platte, Clay, and Jackson Counties, had “slave balconies” in their churches where Black worshippers sat, or they were relegated to a segregated section of pews (Fuenfhausen, 2023). If these options weren’t available, African American worshipped in their own manner in cabins or outdoors, served by both local and itinerant Black ministers. However, before the end of slavery, free African Americans in the North began to create religious institutions separate from their White counterparts. In the late 1700s, Richard Alien formed the Free African Society in Philadelphia, which led to the regional spread of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1844, a split occurred in the Methodist Church over slavery. In the South, enslaved people usually worshiped in the churches of their masters (Powers, 2023), but in the North, they were allowed to organize their own congregations (Fraser 1954), where they found an independence and respect that was not possible in White churches. Black churches were one of the few means that Blacks had to express themselves; religion became the heart of their community, hosting a variety of social activities (Frazier, 1964; Missouri State Parks website). At first, Blacks preaching to a gather African American congregation was greeted with a fear and suspicion. To do so was often a crime. Typical of the situation was an account from the early history of Platte County describing two Black ministers who were caught preaching in 1854. “Charles, a slave of Almond Paxton, and Callahan and Andy, enslaved men held by L. C. Jack, were convicted and fined for expounding on the gospel to their fellows with no officer present on Atchison Hill” (in Platte City near the old “Catholic Cemetery” on Atchison Hill). Charles and Andy (Paxton, 1897, p. 187).
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church listed on the National Register?
Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 30, 1992.
What type of historic resource is Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church?
Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church?
The period of significance for Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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