West End Church of Christ Silver Point
Encyclopedia
The West End Church of Christ Silver Point is a folk vernacular brick church in the unincorporated community of Silver Point, Tennessee
, USA. A primarily African-American Church of Christ
congregation has met at the church continuously since its construction in 1915. In 2007, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places
for its role in the history of the Upper Cumberland
region.
The church is rooted in the Silver Point Christian Institute, a mission school established largely through the efforts of Churches of Christ evangelists George Phillip Bowser (1874–1950) and Marshall Keeble
. Along with providing badly needed education facilities to the Upper Cumberland's small African-American population, the school published the Christian Echo, a Church of Christ newsletter circulated nationwide. In spite of early financial struggles, the school, with the help of Nashville minister David Lipscomb
and philanthropist A. M. Burton, managed to survive until 1959. The church, built for the mission school community in 1915, has remained in operation to the present, however.
, about halfway between Cookeville
and Smithville
. Along with the church, the property includes a modern cemetery and a small monument commemorating the church's establishment. Like most of the Highland Rim
, the area is rugged and hilly.
, author W. E. B. Du Bois wrote of the primitive conditions of a black schoolhouse at nearby Alexandria
, where he taught class while a student at Fisk University
in the 1880s. In 1909, after delivering a sermon at the Laurel Hill Church of Christ in Nashville
, Evangelist George Phillip Bowser was approached by fellow Church of Christ ministers Sam Womack and Alexander Campbell with a request to establish a church at Silver Point. Bowser agreed on the condition that he also be allowed to establish a mission school for the area's African-American children, which was granted.
In late 1909, Bowser opened what was initially known as the Putnam County Normal and Industrial Orphanage at Silver Point. Womack, Campbell, and another Church of Christ official named Henry Clay served as the school's first board of directors. Students paid between fifty cents and one dollar per month for tuition, and six dollars per month for room and board. Operating costs were augmented by the sale of produce grown in the school's 8 acres (3.2 ha) garden, and by the sale of wagons built by Clay and several students. The school also published the Christian Echo, a Church of Christ newsletter founded by Bowser in 1903, and shipped the newsletter to subscribers across the country.
In spite of efforts to reduce operating costs, the school struggled financially. One of the school's teachers, Annie Tugwell, asked Nashville educator and minister David Lipscomb for help, and Lipscomb turned to Nashville insurance magnate A. M. Burton, who agreed to provide financial assistance. In 1913, the school became the Silver Point Christian Institute, which taught grades 1 through 8. With better financing, a new frame building was constructed in 1915 by P. H. Black, an African-American architect from Nashville. The building was used by both the school and the West End Church of Christ congregation, the latter founded in 1915.
Bowser resigned as the school's principal in 1918 due to frustrations over lack of steady financial support for the school. He later founded schools in Michigan
and Texas
, and continued publishing the Christian Echo (the newsletter is still in publication today). Classes continued at the West End Church until 1959, when the school's students were bused to Putnam County's public schools. The church's congregation, however, still meets regularly.
The church's interior follows a basic floor plan, with two sets of pews divided by a central aisle leading to the pulpit. The pews are not original, but were retrieved from another church building. The pulpit is flanked by two rooms that serve as a Sunday school classrooms. In the 1970s, the walls were covered with wooden paneling, and acoustical tiles were added to the ceiling.
A granite monument commemorating the founding of the church and its predecessor, the Silver Point Christian Institute, stands near the entrance to the church's driveway. A modern cemetery is located behind the church.
Silver Point, Tennessee
Silver Point, Tennessee is an unincorporated rural settlement in Putnam County, Tennessee, scattered around the intersection of State Highway 141, State Highway 56, and Interstate 40, about halfway between Cookeville and Smithville.-Landmarks:...
, USA. A primarily African-American Church of Christ
Church of Christ
Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...
congregation has met at the church continuously since its construction in 1915. In 2007, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
for its role in the history of the Upper Cumberland
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
region.
The church is rooted in the Silver Point Christian Institute, a mission school established largely through the efforts of Churches of Christ evangelists George Phillip Bowser (1874–1950) and Marshall Keeble
Marshall Keeble
Marshall Keeble was an African-American preacher of the Churches of Christ, whose successful career notably bridged a racial divide in an important American religious movement prior to the American Civil Rights Movement...
. Along with providing badly needed education facilities to the Upper Cumberland's small African-American population, the school published the Christian Echo, a Church of Christ newsletter circulated nationwide. In spite of early financial struggles, the school, with the help of Nashville minister David Lipscomb
David Lipscomb
Lipscomb's beliefs on government can be classified as a radical theory of religious freedom, classical liberalism, even potentially consistent with fundamental positions of Anarcho-primitivism. Lipscomb believed in creating a peaceful, cooperative, decentralized communion in which freedom,...
and philanthropist A. M. Burton, managed to survive until 1959. The church, built for the mission school community in 1915, has remained in operation to the present, however.
Location
The West End Church of Christ Silver Point is located along Center Hill Dam Road (State Highway 141) in the western half of Silver Point, a rural community scattered around the intersection of State Highway 141, State Highway 56, and Interstate 40Interstate 40
Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...
, about halfway between Cookeville
Cookeville, Tennessee
Cookeville is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 23,923 at the 2000 census. of Cookeville's population was 30,435, and the combined total of those living in Cookeville's in 2010 was 65,014. It is the county seat of Putnam County and home to Tennessee...
and Smithville
Smithville, Tennessee
Smithville is a city in DeKalb County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,994 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of De Kalb County.-Geography:...
. Along with the church, the property includes a modern cemetery and a small monument commemorating the church's establishment. Like most of the Highland Rim
Highland Rim
The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee surrounding the Central Basin. Nashville is largely surrounded by higher terrain in all directions....
, the area is rugged and hilly.
History
In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, education opportunities for the small African-American population of the Upper Cumberland were scarce. In his book The Souls of Black FolkThe Souls of Black Folk
The Souls of Black Folk is a classic work of American literature by W. E. B. Du Bois. It is a seminal work in the history of sociology, and a cornerstone of African-American literary history....
, author W. E. B. Du Bois wrote of the primitive conditions of a black schoolhouse at nearby Alexandria
Alexandria, Tennessee
Alexandria is a town in DeKalb County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 814 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...
, where he taught class while a student at Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
in the 1880s. In 1909, after delivering a sermon at the Laurel Hill Church of Christ in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Evangelist George Phillip Bowser was approached by fellow Church of Christ ministers Sam Womack and Alexander Campbell with a request to establish a church at Silver Point. Bowser agreed on the condition that he also be allowed to establish a mission school for the area's African-American children, which was granted.
In late 1909, Bowser opened what was initially known as the Putnam County Normal and Industrial Orphanage at Silver Point. Womack, Campbell, and another Church of Christ official named Henry Clay served as the school's first board of directors. Students paid between fifty cents and one dollar per month for tuition, and six dollars per month for room and board. Operating costs were augmented by the sale of produce grown in the school's 8 acres (3.2 ha) garden, and by the sale of wagons built by Clay and several students. The school also published the Christian Echo, a Church of Christ newsletter founded by Bowser in 1903, and shipped the newsletter to subscribers across the country.
In spite of efforts to reduce operating costs, the school struggled financially. One of the school's teachers, Annie Tugwell, asked Nashville educator and minister David Lipscomb for help, and Lipscomb turned to Nashville insurance magnate A. M. Burton, who agreed to provide financial assistance. In 1913, the school became the Silver Point Christian Institute, which taught grades 1 through 8. With better financing, a new frame building was constructed in 1915 by P. H. Black, an African-American architect from Nashville. The building was used by both the school and the West End Church of Christ congregation, the latter founded in 1915.
Bowser resigned as the school's principal in 1918 due to frustrations over lack of steady financial support for the school. He later founded schools in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and continued publishing the Christian Echo (the newsletter is still in publication today). Classes continued at the West End Church until 1959, when the school's students were bused to Putnam County's public schools. The church's congregation, however, still meets regularly.
Design
The West End Church of Christ Silver Point is an example of a simple, rural church with an African-American folk vernacular design. The structure is a rectangular brick structure with a concrete foundation and a gabled, asphalt-shingled roof. The church's south wall contains a covered porch and the double-door main entrance. The north wall once contained two rear doors, but these have been sealed. The east and west walls both contain four windows topped by brick arches. The top of the south wall contains a block of concrete which may have at one time held a stone inscribed with the name of the church or school.The church's interior follows a basic floor plan, with two sets of pews divided by a central aisle leading to the pulpit. The pews are not original, but were retrieved from another church building. The pulpit is flanked by two rooms that serve as a Sunday school classrooms. In the 1970s, the walls were covered with wooden paneling, and acoustical tiles were added to the ceiling.
A granite monument commemorating the founding of the church and its predecessor, the Silver Point Christian Institute, stands near the entrance to the church's driveway. A modern cemetery is located behind the church.
External links
- G. P. Bowser – brief biography