The Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church, a two-story, native limestone building on a leafy hillside in Parkville, Missouri, has seen better days.
In recent years, the flock has dwindled and the church has fallen into disrepair. The stone steps are crumbling and the weathered bell tower needs attention. Last year vandals kicked in a door and broke a stained glass window.
But there are still people around who remember the church from its heyday.
“Oh, it is a stone monument,” said Dr. Cora Thompson, the church treasurer. “Where we are sitting was a rock quarry. And so when they decided to build this church, they hewn the stone out of the quarry that was here.”
The church was built by formerly enslaved people, and once had a congregation of 80 people, including many prominent leaders in the African American community. In 1992, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Restoration of the building has been going on for six months to bring the structure back to its former glory. In January, the project got a boost from a $160,000 federal grant. It is one of 31 historic Black churches in the U.S. awarded a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
Since then, the site has been a construction zone.
Volunteer builders have replaced the roof, repaired a concrete floor, and renovated the entryway. In November, they measured and cut new window sills.
The volunteers are retired professionals — engineers, and a couple doctors and lawyers.
“It’s all trial and error,” said Tom Hickey, a civil engineer who used to work at Black & Veatch. “Cut it once and nibble at it for five more times, and then you’ll get it right.”
Another former Black & Veatch engineer, Billy Ernst, wields a nail gun.
“Well, we've all fallen in love with this church,” Ernst said. “It’s kind of fallen by the wayside here, but we're going to get it back to where they'll have the full service here.”
The crew’s been working since June, but still have a long way to go.
“The church has just got a lot of years of neglect,” Ernst said. “There's a lot of wood rot, a lot of the stone was cracked and fallen down. And so that's what we're trying to fix.”
There are also plans for new bathrooms, a kitchen and classrooms.
“We're just a bunch of old men that, they let us work with power tools and stuff when we come out here,” Ernst said. “So to restore something like this old structure is just amazing.”
Retired architect Mike Scarborough has been working as the general contractor on the project. He expects that they’ll need another $200,000 to finish the job. New rock is needed for the church’s stone steps and weathered bell tower.
“When they built this church, they must have run out of stone because the stone that's on the exterior stairs and the top of the bell tower is a different shade and has not weathered as well,” Scarborough said. “That tells me it probably came from another quarry, and that stone is really deteriorating.”
Thompson’s sister Alcorama Douglass Spencer said the family was witness to the building’s importance to Parkville. The family moved there in 1941.
“Our father was hired to teach at the all-Black school — the brick building right across from the church.”
She said November was always a special time for the congregation.
“The Saturday before Thanksgiving was the church's annual Thanksgiving dinner,” Spencer said. “And people just came from all over. People who had been out of town would look forward to coming back.”
Thompson remembers tables laden with food.
“Several of us would cook a turkey and bring it over. Miss Louise made the dressing, and it by itself was a feast,” Thompson said. “The church would have cranberry sauce and, of course, rolls to make it a true Thanksgiving dinner.”
It’s been about three years since the sisters have been able to celebrate at the church. Volunteers wanted to have the building ready for a gathering this Thanksgiving season, but couldn’t get power to the building in time.
Now, the goal is next year’s big celebration.
“People who have been so encouraging and helping us to get this far can come and fellowship with us and we're looking forward to being able to do that,” Spencer said.
Even still, Spencer said the restoration has been the answer to their prayers.
Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church, 1137 West St., Parkville, Missouri 64152, is accepting donations for their renovation project via Paypal or Cash App at $washchapel/. For more information, visit their Facebook Page.
