Pikeville Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Explained

Pikeville Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
Location:	E. Valley Dr., Pikeville, Tennessee
Coordinates:	35.605°N -85.1856°W
Built:	1870
Added:	November 30, 1999
Refnum:	99001444

Pikeville Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is a historic African-American church on E. Valley Drive in Pikeville, Tennessee.

The church was built in 1870, during Reconstruction. It was used by multiple congregations and also served as the community's black school until 1925, when a Rosenwald school (Lincoln School) was built.^[1] A survey of Tennessee African-American churches conducted in the 1990s identified it as the oldest extant African-American church building in the state.^[2] The church still houses an active congregation.^[3] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Further reading

• Powerful Artifacts: A Guide to Surveying and Documenting Rural African-American Churches in the South. Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University, July 2000.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Pikeville Chapel AME Zion Church: speech . 1982 . Elizabeth . Robnett . Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University.
2. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=64500618}} National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Historic Rural African-American Churches in Tennessee, 1850–1970 ]. Carroll Van . West . 1995 . National Park Service (1999).
3. Web site: "Free at Last" exhibit at Bessie Smith Center — Now until Oct. 1 . Chattanooga Now . August 1, 2013 . Clint . Cooper.