|
Bethel A.M.E. Church - Iowa City, Iowa
Application Information from National Register of Historic Places Form
Description
Bethel A.M.E. Church, Johnson County, IA
DESCRIPTION
The modest Bethel A.M.E. Church in Iowa City, Iowa, was constructed in 1868 with
simple
lines and plain details. Situated with its gable ends perpendicular to
Governor Street, the building is rectangular in shape, symmetrical in
fenestration, and domestic in scale. A moderately-pitched roof clad in
modern asphalt shingles1 caps wood-frame walls that are covered with
narrow clapboards. At each corner of the building clapboarding
terminates at
narrow, vertical trim boards. Likewise, eaveline
fascia boards are narrow. The modern wooden front door bears a
cross—the only architectural reference to the building's religious
character. The door is centered on the facade's gable wall directly
under the ridge peak. A single-pane transom light is located above the
door. The church faces east enabling morning
sunlight to shine
through the transom into the church's interior. Over the transom hangs
a small rectangular sign panel that no longer bears any printing. A
shed-roof canopy (not original) covers the front porch. Steep stairs
from the entrance down to the sidewalk are necessary to accommodate
both the slight rise of the front yard and the elevation resulting
from
the church's raised foundation. Side walls on the building are each
pierced by two large, 2x2 sash windows filled with opaque "privacy"
glass consistent with the 1920s. The rear wall is solid, reflecting the
interior position of the pulpit and chancel end of the sanctuary.
The
church sits on a raised, red brick foundation believed to be from the
early 1920s. Records are not clear on how high the foundation walls
were raised, but the project gave the pastor and congregation badly
needed space in the basement and additional light from large windows
that are above grade. Over the years, the basement has been used for a
variety of
purposes including meetings, classes, cooking, and social activities. Entrance to the basement is via an exterior stairwell on
'A photograph submitted to the State Historic Preservation Officer in 1988 shows a standing seam metal
roof on the church. While it is unlikely this metal roof was the original material (more likely it replaced wood
shingles), the metal roof may have sheltered the church since early in the twentieth century. A large number of
buildings in Iowa City have standing seam metal roofs. These roofs of galvanized iron date to the c. 1912-1950
period. Their frequency in town is attributed to the longevity of the Schuppert and Koudelka Sheet Metal
business. Irving Weber. Historical Stories of Iowa City. (1992)7:59.
the
long, south side of the building. A gabled porch roof over the side
stairs may not be original. The two stairways serving the building
effectively limit entrance to both floors of the church to those of
limber legs only. The church sanctuary is simple with a traditional
arrangement of a central aisle flanked by rows of chairs for seating
the members. The front entrance on the east end wall is opposed at the
west wall by the raised-platform chancel. The pulpit, a piano and
ceremonial chairs are
located on the raised platform behind a short
banister. Recently installed wainscot panels about three feet high line
the walls all round the sanctuary. Original chair rail molding tops the
wainscotting and the wood plank floors are covered by modern carpeting.
An interior stovepipe chimney stack is centrally positioned along the
long, north wall but no longer serves any wood or coal stove. Gas and
water were added to the building in 1928 and since then heating has
been provided by modern furnaces.2 The basement below
the sanctuary is basically one large room with a small rest room in the
corner. Kitchen cupboards and appliances line the south wall. Large
tables are set up in the center of the room to serve multiple purposes.
Sitting
on a narrow half-lot, the church building fills that portion of its
site nearest Governor Street which is currently a northbound one-way
street.3 The rear yard of the church is open and grassy,
and slopes slightly downhill toward a graveled alley. From c. 1893
until the fall of 1988 a small parsonage existed behind the church to
provide housing for resident
pastors
and their families. When there
was no pastor, the house was rented to a tenant who was sometimes a
church trustee. The parsonage was a small, square, wood-frame building
that at least by the late 1950s was arranged as four bedrooms and
2Though primary sources are rare, facts and dates about the church are taken from the work of three church
members: Mrs. Lottie Donnegan, who noted some of the church's history in a handwritten manuscript dated
April 6, 1937 (collection of Bethel A.M.E. Church); and Francine Thompson and Diana Bryant, current day
sleuths. The latter two serve on the Church's committee for preserving the church and its history. Ms.
Thompson, the current church historian, wrote an article entitled "Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
History, April 1, 1868, Celebrating 127 Years" which was published as a part of a booklet compiled for the May
12, 1995 anniversary celebration (collection of the author; also available at the Johnson County Heritage
Museum in Coralville, Iowa).
3The church is located on the south half of Lot 19 of Block 1 of C.H. Berryhill's 2nd Addition (filed 1866).
No evidence was found in land transfer records from the late 1860s to early 1870s that the church organization
ever owned additional land in this area.
a bathroom (see Figure 1).4
Family cooking and socializing were undertaken in the church's raised
basement. During the years 1893 to c. 1923--the years before the
basement was expanded--a portion of the parsonage may also have been
devoted to cooking and living room space. Both the parsonage and the
church have each suffered a fire. In 1923, while a remodeling project
was underway, the church had a midnight fire which resulted in smoke
and water damage.5 The parsonage sustained heavy damage
a year later when a persistent fire re-ignited three times over the
course of one night. The fire, "of unknown origin, practically
destroyed the A.M.E. parsonage, and water did what the flames didn't."6 It is unclear whether the parsonage could be salvaged or had to be rebuilt.
A
short driveway leads from the street to the south side of the church
and the fenceline for a nearby house lies close to the church on the
north side. Occupying just half an 80' x 150' lot, the 20' wide the
church leaves roughly 10 feet of yard space between it and the adjacent
properties.7 The mature trees on the lot add to the congested feeling. Off the church's front
north
corner is a very large white oak thought to be more than a 100 years
old and "one of the best in the neighborhood." Off the southeast corner
is a fenceline catalpa about 65 years old. The catalpa was an
ornamental tree much favored by Victorians but it freely seeds itself
making its presence in any one location as much a matter of chance as
choice. Another large catalpa is located in the rear yard.8
4The floor plan sketch and description of the parsonage are from Dianna Penny who arrived in Iowa City
with her parents from Muscatine, Iowa, in 1958. Her father, Rev. Fred L. Penny, served as the pastor of Bethel
Church until his death in 1994. Dianna Penny's brother, Fred N. Penny, has served as pastor of the St. Paul
A.M.E. Church in Moline, Illinois.
5"Three Fires Mark Sunday in Iowa City," Iowa City Press-Citizen. May 7, 1923. The metal roof seen in a
late 1980s photograph may have been installed after this fire.
*"Fire Makes Three Efforts to Raze Home," Iowa City Press-Citizen. February 11, 1924. Four days after
the fire the Klu Klux Klan met in Iowa City at the fairgrounds to organize an Iowa City chapter. No immediate
linkage between the persistent fire and the Klan was made. Iowa City Press-Citizen. February 15, 1924.
7 A recent survey performed at the request of the church indicated the neighbor's fence to the north sits about
a foot into the church's lot. Members are currently considering how to re-establish usage of this additional land.
Historic boundaries of the church for this nomination purpose include the entire lot as surveyed.
8Jeff Schabilion to Jan Nash, July 30, 1996. Schabilion is a professor of botany at the University of Iowa
and was involved in a mid-1990s survey of Iowa City's historic and landmark trees. The survey was sponsored
by the Heritage Tree Program and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources which developed brochures for
self-guided walking tours of the neighborhoods' historic trees. The Bethel A.M.E. Church's location puts it in a
historic (though largely non-extant) upland oak savannah. During the 1870s, the church sponsored camp
meetings in what was described as "Berryhill's Grove." The white oak therefore is likely a remnant of the
original natural landscape surrounding the church; the catalpa an errant remnant of early residential ornamental
plantings.
 click to enlarge image
The
neighborhood surrounding the church is filled with residences of mixed
vintage, though at least one nearby house on Governor Street may be
even earlier than the Bethel church. This stone house across the street
from the church has been dated as early as the 1840s.9 Houses along
Governor Street in this area reflect a mixture of income levels as well.
(Source: U.S. Dept of Interior, National Register of Historic Places registration form)
|
