WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The Cedar Hill West Bank Heritage Foundation and the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust have been working on a restoration project for one of the oldest African American churches in the southern region. Organizers expect the work to be done this spring.
Reaves Chapel is located in Navassa and has been around for 125 years. Church Services were held in the building until 2006.
That’s when the building was in threat of falling apart.
Thanks to non-profits the building is saved, one community member who helped the project says it was worth saving the church from destruction.
“When I walk in here today, I can feel my ancestors within me saying job well done”, says Al Beatty, President of Cedar Hill West Bank Heritage Foundation.
The Reaves Chapel was first built by the hands of former enslaved African Americans in the 1860s.
It withstood moving from the Cape Fear River during the 1900s by logs and oxen.
Beatty says the church’s condition worsened over the years because members at the time didn’t have the financial means to fix it.
“The community was deprived and we didn’t have 6 figure jobs per se we were humble people. So a lot of humble people didn’t have the money to even treat it for termites”, says Beatty.
Nonprofits saw the value in fixing it up.
“It was important to us to make sure that we were serving communities in the way that conservation met their needs”, says Jesica Blake, Associate director of NC Coastal Land Trust.
This building served as a place of refuge for the African American community.
Beatty says it was one of the spots they felt welcomed.
“During Jim Crow Era African Americans weren’t allowed to go Downtown Wilmington,” says Beatty.
Reaves Chapel was also a place to socialize.
“We had speakers to come in, nationally known speakers come to perform and speak to the community”, says Beatty.
The Coastal Land Trust understood the significance of keeping some of the original materials in the new building.
“It would have been much easier actually if this was a replica, but it was very important to the core of the project, ” says Blake.
Although the restoration project took close to 6 years to complete, Beatty appreciates the partnership with the NC Coastal Land Trust.
“We could not have come this far without their help”, says Beatty.
People like Beatty are glad this building will be around for generations to come.
They will host a ceremony on March 7th for the finishing of the restoration project.
They hope to turn this church into a state historic site.
To learn more about the project click here.
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