First Congregational Church of Marion, 601 Clay Street, Marion

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS AL-299. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The First Congregational Church is notable for its close ties to Lincoln Normal School, an important African American educational institution in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There are few other extant nineteenth century facilities in Marion that are related with the efforts of the local African American community and the American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church to offer an academic education for Black residents. The strong association between the church and the institution exemplifies the importance of African American churches in providing higher education for African American after the Civil War.

The building is largely unaltered since it was constructed in Description: The First Congregational Church of Marion is a one-story wood frame structure with a gable roof and brick foundation walls and piers. The church features a bell tower above the narthex on the north side of the building and a semi-octagonal apse to the south. The northern entry door is topped with an original semi- circular transom. Above the narthex's mansard roof, a bell tower consists of a rectangular base with round-headed louvered openings and topped with an open belfry supported by short columns. The belfry's ceiling is perforated with a star motif. Five large windows line the nave s eastern and western facades.

On the interior, the narthex is divided into two areas: a plain transitional space and a small, enclosed stairs leading to the bell tower. A modern modification is the inclusion of a small bathroom beneath the ladder stairs. In the main space, the nave has heart pine floors. A wide, beadboard chancel rail separates the nave from the chancel. The chancel is raised and divided into a choir and a pulpit platform by a rail. One original brass lighting fixture remains above the pulpit; the others were stolen and replaced in the History: In July a group of freed former enslaved persons in Marion established the "Lincoln School of Marion," acquired a site, and erected a small building.

The following year, the American Missionary Association leased the building and grounds and assumed responsibility for paying the teachers. By the school building also provided space for a visiting Congregational minister to preach on Sundays. In members of the congregation agreed to provide all of the labor for constructing the church. Eighteen members completed the building in the late fall of FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF MARION HABS No. AL-299 (Page 2)

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS AL-299. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Mansell, Jeff; Melanie A. Betz (June 30, "West Marion Historic District." National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. Mertins, Ellen; Idella Childs (July 22, "First Congregational Church of Marion." National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. National Park Service. Historians: Botao Li, PhD candidate, School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Danielle Willkens, Associate Professor, School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology.