LAWRENCE COUNTY, OHIO (WOWK)- It served as a safe haven for those who were enslaved and traveling along the Underground Railroad, and after sitting vacant for years, an old church is getting a new purpose.
The Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church was built in 1849 and was the first Black church in Ohio. In the 1980s, it stopped hosting church services and has sat vacant ever since.
Years of the church going untouched, severe weather, and a termite infestation nearly led to the church’s collapse. However, thanks to the efforts of the Foundation for Appalachia Ohio, repairs are underway, and the church is going to serve a new purpose.
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“It’s not going to be a church anymore. It’s going to be a historical site and a community center. It’ll host field trips, lectures, and you can rent it out for special events. You could hold a wedding in here,” said Lacy Ward Jr., the volunteer project manager for the Macedonia Rehabilitation Project.
Ward says the church played a crucial role in helping escaped slaves obtain freedom.
The Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church is one of the first locations listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. This is a program by the National Parks Service to locate and identify locations that offered a safe haven to runaway slaves.
“But you know, you had the Ohio River, and Virginia back then was a slave state, Kentucky was a slave state, Ohio was a free state. The effort was to get across that river, get somewhere safe, regroup, and then go north. People hid in this church, and their movement was facilitated by the pastor and members of the church at that time,” said Ward.
Beyond being a location for the Underground Railroad, Ward says the church served as a “mother church”.
“Congregations could not form in the slave states. So after the end of the Civil War, this church gave birth to churches in West Virginia, churches in Kentucky, and churches where you didn’t have to climb a large hill in Ohio,” said Ward.
While much of the structure of the church needs to be replaced, some of the original pieces will stay intact. Pieces like wooden studs and the church’s bell tower.
Ward says it’s important to preserve pieces of history like the church, so that today’s generation of children can learn lessons from the past.
“America’s future depends on America’s history. This is an integral part of America’s history. I mean, this is a period where we were divided. Pre-Civil War, we went through a tumultuous time, but came out united. I think that’s a very important lesson we can share with today’s kids and future kids,” said Ward.
The Macedonia Rehabilitation Project will be completed on Aug. 31 and will begin its new life as a community center shortly after in early September.
