Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church (Newport, Rhode Island)

 African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ), protestant church

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Historic Name: Tilley Avenue Chapel, Walter Lowrie Club
31 Tilley Avenue, Newport, RI 02840

Narrative Description
Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church is a 1 ½ story, gable-roofed building composed of three principal bays and covered in asbestos shingles. The foundation of the building is of uncoursed rubble covered by a thick layer of painted sandy cement, which is crumbling in places thereby exposing the underlying structure. An older style chain link fence, painted silver, surrounds the double lot.

The west side, or the front of the building, faces Tilley Avenue and is broken by one Gothic-style, square lancet window centered on the façade. The window glass areas have been boarded over, but the molding is rather ornate (i.e. chamfering) for such a plain building.

The north side of the building faces Van Zandt Avenue and is divided into three bays consisting of one large regularly placed one-over-one window per bay. These windows, which are new replacements, have simple but heavy casings. The exterior surface on this façade is covered in asbestos shingles, as are all the exterior surfaces of the building. The sill molding appears to have been added after the asbestos siding was installed, as it lies on top of the siding. Two basement four-over-four windows are present. A group of three large pine trees are planted approximately six feet from the building and may be assisting in the retention of moisture and foundation degradation on this side.

The east side, or rear of the building, faces Congdon Avenue and is broken by one door that is set to the left side of the building and which is reached by a series of seven modern wooden stairs built of unpainted, pressure-treated wood. There is a small one-over-one, window that is centered at the top of the building, which has an aluminum storm window over it. The foundation is relatively high (approximately four feet) and has one four-over-four window set to the right. Near the basement window is a tablet, which has information about the Church, Congregation, Reverend, and Bishop. This stone was a part of the former Mt. Zion Church, which was located on Zion Place, and burnt to the ground in 1974.


The text reads:

MT ZION A.M.E. CHURCH
Founded by
REV. LUKE WALDON
APRIL 26, 1845

PRESENT LOCATION OCCUPIED
SEPT 10, 1849

TABLET SET SEPT 10, 1944 BY
DR. H. HOLLIS HOOKS A.M.B.S.B.D

RT. REV. DAVID H. SIMS
PRESIDING BISHOP

The south side, like the north side, is divided into three bays consisting of one large regularly placed one-over-one window in the center and east bays, and an entrance vestibule in the west bay. These windows, which are new replacements, have simple but heavy casings. There are two projections, one from the southwest corner and one from the southeast corner. The projection on the southwest appears to be original to the building and is a small vestibule to gain entrance to the church. This includes a modern replacement “fanlight” doorway and casing reached by five cased wooden stairs and two one-over-one windows. The projection on the southeast appears to be an after thought and can better be described as a lean-to. The lean-to is used for a storage area and has a one-pane window on the south side, an old plan board door on both the east and west sides and a roof covered by asphalt shingles. There is a large evergreen tree on the south-west corner, approximately seven feet from the foundation.

The roof is of gray slate tile with a fairly large uncased eave overhang with an open rake and exposed rafters tails. The ends of the exposed rafters are cut in a simple decorative pattern, much like a series of three progressively smaller semicircles. The rain/snow gutters running along the roof are made of wood boards set at a 90-degree angle to the roof surface and appear to be lined with tin. They are held in place by wooden triangular brackets spaced at the same intervals as the rafters. There is a brick chimney piercing the roof on the south-west side and a cast iron, with copper flashing, sewer vent pipe in the north-east corner.

The church property is composed of three separate lots, of which the building sits on one (AP13/74). The other two parcels, located to the east, are large grassy areas that do not have any structure on it. The building is located in a predominately residential area with a few local shops and businesses. With the exception of the evergreens, the building and lands are devoid of landscaping.

Integrity

The building is a rare example of existing mission architecture that remains relatively unchanged and substantially unaltered since its construction in 1890. Its use as a House of God, its undeveloped land, and its unaltered structure all relate the feeling and hopes of the people who developed this area. Because of this integrity, a more complete interpretation of the various periods of significance is possible.


Narrative Statement of Significance

Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, historically known as the Tilley Avenue Chapel, is an historical landmark for the local African-American community and representative of the evangelical work of late 19th Century religious institutions. The Tilley Avenue Chapel was established to fulfill the spiritual needs of a newly bourgeoning city-ward that was without fully established churches. It reflects the growth of religious activities from well established mother churches to these undeveloped lands. After formal churches were established, it transitioned into the role of a beneficial/social club and became one of the thousands of organizations in America designed to help, aid, and assist certain societal designees and members, thereby reflecting Newport’s inclusion in this national movement. The church qualifies for the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A & C. As an example of an early religious mission property and for its architecture, it is significant to local history, and therefore meets Criteria Consideration A. The congregations move to this building in 1976, and the functional change of the building from beneficial/social club to religious institution once again, represents a significant achievement in the history of the building and fulfills Criteria Consideration C.

Historical Significance

Since at least 1763 the bourgeoning seaport town of Newport, Rhode Island was attempting to expand its size, when the Town Meeting appointed a local surveyor to mark out and divide town property known as the School-Lands . Little development occurred on this newly divided land and soon the occupation of Newport by the British and Hessians during the Revolution slowed all expansion. With the end of hostilities, Newport was never able to recover its former prominence as a seaport and wallowed for many years. By the mid-eighteen hundreds immigrants, including African-Americans, began to populate this once open space on the outskirts of town , and were soon looking for more land in which to expand.

As early as 1876, local land-rich farmer Abraham H. Tilley was platting out his fields for roads and lots , although much remained undeveloped until the early 20th-century. The property of the Tilley Avenue Chapel was sold by Abraham H. & Belinda B. Tilley on May 18, 1892 , making it one of the first land transactions in this northern outskirt area of town, although numerous newspaper articles indicate a building already existed prior to the transfer date . The stated purpose of the Chapel, the brain-child of the Reverend E. P. Tuller, was to provide a mission church and Sunday school to the people of the area until new churches could be established . This Chapel was active from 1890 until 1904, offering people a weekly service, Sunday school, and social functions. With the continued populating of the second-ward, churches were built and the mission’s purpose was fulfilled. With the purpose accomplished, the Chapel was sold on July 8, 1904 to a recently established beneficial/social club; the Walter Lowrie Club, named in honor of Walter Lowrie who drowned while swimming. The purpose of the organization at that time was listed as a “helpful institution for some forty of more young men.” Later in life, this club would be cited as a “men’s social club” where members would gather for pool and cards . Not believing they had the necessary land, the Trustees of the Walter Lowrie Club purchased the surrounding two lots on October 1, 1904 and April 21, 1905, bringing the land holdings to the size that it retains to this day. Instrumental in forming this new club was the Reverend Richard J. Greene, a native son with family ties to the Brenton, Greene, and Arnold families of Newport who graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary . Association with the club was not exclusive to any social-economic class, as members ranged from Irish immigrant gardener Samuel Speers to banker/civic leader James W. Thompson. In addition, many religious affiliations were represented, including Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, and Episcopals. With the eventual decline of social and fraternal organizations in the United States after World War II, the Walter Lowrie Club soon fell into a state of disrepair and shrinking membership. With few members and funds, the Trustees of the Walter Lowrie Club ended the 72 year-ownership of the Tilley Avenue Chapel and sold it to the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church on April 20, 1976.

The foundation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church represents an extremely important shift in religious practices of African-Americans. This significances date to 1787, when Richard Allen formed the A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a protest against the failure of the white St. George’s Episcopal Church. When Allen and his fellow African Christians were physically removed from the church, the congregation of St. George’s failed to honor its commitments to love, brotherhood, and respect for all God’s children. In the eighteenth century, the A.M.E. Church was concerned with providing social service relief to those in need, as it does today. These services include housing projects, education programs, and missionaries. The A.M.E. Church functions under the motto, “God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, Man Our Brother.”

The A.M.E. Church quickly spread to surrounding states such as New York, Maryland, and Delaware, before it traveled up and down the Atlantic Coast, eventually finding its way to Newport, Rhode Island. The Union Colored Church on Division Street had been organized in 1824, composed of Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, Moravians, and Congregationalists. Before this church existed, members formed the Shiloh Baptist Church, located at the Sabbatarian Meeting House, and later in the 18th-century schoolhouse on School Street. The A.M.E. Church in Newport was established on May 24, 1845, when they split with the Colored Union Church. It was eventually incorporated in 1863. Several locations were used throughout their history, including a carpenter shop on Spring Street (1824-1845) known as “Bethel” after the Mother Church in Philadelphia, a loft over a blacksmith’s shop on Tilden Avenue in the Kerry Hill neighborhood (1845-1849), a purpose built “House of Worship” on Johnson Court (1853-1876), a former “Hotel Era” dining hall on Zion Place (1876-1974), and finally its present location on Van Zandt Avenue at the former Tilley Avenue Chapel (1976-present). The Mount Olivet Baptist Church was formed in 1894, presently located on Thames Street. These four churches in Newport, display the size, strength, and character of the African-American community.

With the purchase of the building from the Trustees of the Walter Lowrie Club in 1976, Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church has continued the tradition set back in 1890 when the land for the building was first developed for the purpose of spreading the Word of God.

Architectural Significance

Although simple in stature, the Tilley Avenue Chapel stands proudly as a gem of straightforward, uncomplicated religious building of the late 19th Century. It is representative of a larger national movement in public and religious architectural Gothic style that became popular in Newport mission ecclesiastical circles, even though it was built at such a late date. The tried and true style of this simple architecture was a reflection of the people it was intended to minister to; the simple “homesteaders” forging out of town to develop a new area that was once rural.

Being the simplest of buildings, it represents the organizations desire to spread the Word and not the cash, relying on subtle detailing, such as a steeply pitched roof, plain open eave overhangs with exposed simply decorated rafters and shaped or crowned windows as opposed to fully decorated high-style Gothic.

Criteria Consideration and Period of Significance

The Tilley Avenue Chapel meets the requirements for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in accordance with Criteria Considerations A and G. For Consideration A, the church is currently, and historically, a religious property whose importance is derived from its unmolested architectural and contextual fabric and its historic association with the spread of religious ideas and beliefs to multiple denominations ethnic groups.

The period of significance for the Tilley Avenue Chapel has been defined as beginning in 1891, the year the building was constructed and the mission open, and continues to the present day. Subsequent dates of significance include the land acquisition in 1904 and 1905, which enabled the organizations to expand their missions and hold space-intensive functions. In addition, when the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church purchased the land and building in 1976 to continue their ministries to the people of Newport.