Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places on 12/06/17
Summary
The Edwards Chapel Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Russellville, Arkansas, is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places under Criterion A, with local significance, for its history as an early church. The property is also being nominated under Criteria Consideration A as a religious property deriving its primary significance from its historical importance.
Elaboration
Christian Church and the Disciples of Christ
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination grew out of the partnership between two separate Christian movements that developed in Pennsylvania and Kentucky in the early 1800s.[1] Thomas and Alexander Campbell, a Presbyterian father and son from Pennsylvania, and Barton Stone, a native of Maryland and also a former Presbyterian, all led followers who sought a more inclusive Christianity. All three objected to aspects of Presbyterian services and the factions and denominational divides that existed between Christian congregations.[2] The Campbell’s movement adopted the term “Disciples of Christ” while Stone’s movement adopted the term “Christians”. The two movements were similar in many of their doctrines and practices and in 1832 in Lexington, Kentucky, the two groups united. Although these groups were devoted to uniting various congregations, inner disputes existed, and eventually one group which opposed various practices not specifically mentioned by the Bible, gradually separated and formed the Churches of Christ denomination.[3]
Edwards Chapel Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Edwards Chapel Christian Church began as a biracial Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation in c. 1868 in the historic community of Coal Springs, Arkansas. Today, the original founding site of the church is in between the small community of London, Arkansas, and the city of Russellville, near the shores of Illinois Bayou. According to church histories and local oral histories, the church was founded by white minister Pope Kelley for local white citizens, freemen and former slaves.[4] Thus, it was a biracial church at a time of intense racial tensions in the South. The original church was located on top of a hill overlooking the original site of the former Dwight Mission Indian School. A cemetery, known as both Dwight Cemetery and Edwards Cemetery, was adjacent to both the church and the old Dwight Mission area.[5] This cemetery includes several unmarked graves as well as graves of some of the original members of Edwards Chapel Christian Church. The church may have been named after the local Edwards family, several of whom are buried at the Dwight/Edwards Cemetery.
During the 1880s, Dr. George W. Harkey assumed leadership of the congregation and the church continued to grow. In c. 1900, Edwards Chapel Christian Church was moved from its original location to a new structure in the community of Ouita. This community was closer to the growing city of Russellville, near the base of Norristown Mountain, northwest of Russellville along the southern edge of Illinois Bayou. This site is now a wooded area along Damascus Road, inside the current city boundaries of Russellville. The land in Ouita was donated to the church by Charlie, Pinkey and Henry Edwards.[6] The church would stay in this location until 1939. Important members and leaders of the church during this period included R. T. Madlock, W. W. Martin, W. T. York, Mancil M. Bostick, T. R. Moore, H. A. Armstrong, and Elders Smith, Guiden, and Hervey. [7]
In 1934, after a local “tent meeting”, several members of the church decided to split from the congregation and form the Church of Christ.[8] This split reduced the congregation’s membership significantly. On July 12, 1939, the congregation of Edwards Chapel Christian Church met to discuss a new location for the church.[9] It was decided to move the church into the city of Russellville, into the racially divided neighborhood known locally as “colored town” or “negro town” in the southwestern section of the city. An existing residence, owned by locally prominent African American Mr. Willie James, was purchased along with its two city lots in the A. E. Luker Addition to the city at the corner of West 2nd Street and South Independence Avenue.[10] Mr. John H. Woodward, Jr., was credited with most of the renovation work needed to transform the residence into a space suitable for the church to use.[11] According to Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of the area from the 1920s through the 1940s, it appears the original residence included a small front porch that was removed during its renovation to become a church. Also, it appears the fellowship hall and kitchen space at the rear of the structure was added after the church purchased the residence in 1939. During the 1930s and 1940s, the church’s new home along Independence Avenue was near the western edge of the city of Russellville. Since that time, the city has expanded well to the west and south of the church.
In 1990, the congregation changed its name to Central Christian Church after a renovation project to fix the deteriorating church building.[12] In 1992, Central Christian started the first Race Relations Task Force in the city of Russellville to help bring awareness to racial issues following the Los Angeles/Watts Riots. The congregation also started Russellville’s first Summer Cereal Drive in 2004 to help underprivileged children by providing breakfast meals during the summer months. Since the founder of this drive, Rachelle “Rockie” Richardson died in 2012, the drive has continued throughout the city of Russellville. The church building continues to be used on a regular basis.
Statement of Significance
The Edwards Chapel Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Russellville, Arkansas, is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places under Criterion A, with local significance, for its history as an early church. The property is also being nominated under Criteria Consideration A as a religious property deriving its primary significance from its historical importance.
Bibliography
Boyett, Gene W. “The Black Experience in the First Decade of Reconstruction in Pope County, Arkansas.” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Vol. 51, no. 2 (Summer 1992). pp. 128-129.
Gardner, Julia Matthews, “Early Churches of Pope County,” Arkansas Valley Historical Papers, n. 17. Russellville, Arkansas: Pope County Historical Association. (August 1958). pp. 3-4.
“History of the Disciples.” Christian Church (Disciple of Christ) In the United States and Canada. Accessed 1 September 2017. http://disciples.org/our-identity/history-of-the-disciples/.
Lemley, J. B. “Cemeteries of Pope County, Arkansas.” Pope County Genealogy and Family Group, 2nd Edition. Little Rock: 1981.
Richardson, William S. The History of Edwards Chapel/Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): From Coal Springs to Ouita to Russellville. 2000.
Stewart-Abernathy, Leslie C. “Dwight Mission.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Central Arkansas Library System, updated 4 December 2009. Web. www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net. accessed 1 September 2017.
United States Census, 1940. Russellville, Arkansas.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Russellville, Arkansas. 1910-1940.
[1]“History of the Disciples,” Christian Church (Disciple of Christ) In the United States and Canada, Accessed 1 September 2017, http://disciples.org/our-identity/history-of-the-disciples/.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Julia Matthews Gardner, “Early Churches of Pope County,” Arkansas Valley Historical Papers, n.17 (August 1958). pp. 3-4. Gene W. Boyett, “The Black Experience in the First Decade of Reconstruction in Pope County, Arkansas,” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 2 (Summer 1992). pp. 128-129.
[5] J. B. Lemley, “Cemeteries of Pope County, Arkansas,” Pope County Genealogy and Family Group, 2nd Edition, Little Rock: 1981. Leslie C. Stewart-Abernathy, “Dwight Mission,” Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Central Arkansas Library System, www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net, accessed 1 September 2017.
[6] William S. Richardson, The History of Edwards Chapel/Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): From Coal Springs to Ouita to Russellville, 2000. p. 7.
[7] Gardner, “Early Churches of Pope County.”
[8] Richardson, The History of Edwards Chapel, pp. 9-10.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Mr. John H. Woodard, Jr., passed away on April 27, 1959, and a plaque and wooden pulpit lectern were dedicated to him at the church. Richardson, The History of Edwards Chapel, p. 10.
[12] Richardson, The History of Edwards Chapel, pp. 15-16.