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\u201cThey were going to condemn the building. They were actually talking about demolishing it,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Harris family wanted to ensure the building would not be destroyed because its history was too important for them to lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long before Pickett Chapel carried that name, it was simply \u201cthe Methodist Church,\u201d a modest brick sanctuary on what is now East Main Street. Those same enslaved and free Black men who laid every brick also filled the pews, but only in a segregated area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was a balcony where the enslaved African Americans sat, and the Anglo members sat on the floor. It\u2019s a very small space which probably could fit maybe 100 people tight at the most,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 1856, the white congregation had outgrown the space and moved elsewhere. In 1866, Black freedmen purchased the chapel for $1,500 and renamed it. Pickett Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church was christened in honor of brothers Calvin and James Pickett, Methodist ministers who helped make the sale possible. The chapel would serve its Black congregation faithfully for the next 107 years. Interestingly, this congregation moved to a newer building only a mile away from Pickett Chapel in 1973, and the original white congregation\u2019s building is also only a mile away from the chapel. In 1977, Pickett Chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris\u2019s great-great-grandmother, America Smith, introduced the family to Methodism, and her twin granddaughters eventually made Pickett Chapel their church home. Harris was baptized and confirmed in that church. The congregation was a true cross-section of Black Lebanon, with members who were laborers, educators, business owners, lawyers, and doctors. His own father was a janitor, while his grandmother and mother worked as domestics for the Evans family, the founders of Cracker Barrel. Harris\u2019s mother is now 88 years old and still the board chair and director. His father, nearly 90, has been equally devoted to protecting the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “My parents actually mortgaged their house to buy that property from the person that owned it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Wilson County Black History Committee acquired Pickett Chapel through the Harris family, the work ahead was daunting. The chapel had a deteriorating roof, crumbling brickwork, and unsafe doors and windows. Using grants from the city of Lebanon, Wilson County, the state of Tennessee, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the committee steadily made repairs. Today, the exterior is fully restored, with the original 1820s-era brick left untouched. Electrical upgrades, fresh paint, and interior finishing are now in their final stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe floor is the original floor. And there\u2019s a barrel ceiling that\u2019s original as well. Those are going to be some of the highlights people can see when they visit,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The restored chapel will become the Roy Bailey African American Museum and Education Center, a place to explore the chapel\u2019s history and honor the lives of those who built it and worshipped there. Harris says they plan to add exhibit kiosks, display materials, and space for local gatherings. It will offer educational programming for school districts, children, and families. Partnership discussions are already underway with Middle Tennessee State University\u2019s Public History program for exhibit content and design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to give people an opportunity to know about the history of people, especially Black people, in Wilson County,\u201d Harris said. \u201cThey can learn about the vast number of families that are African American in Wilson County who have lived there, and some of what they have been a part of. That includes sports, music, science, education \u2014 all the things that people have contributed to the general life of Wilson County.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Pickett Chapel approaches its 200th anniversary in 2027, the finish line is finally in sight for the Harris family. The community that built this chapel, found a church home in it, and nearly lost it, is now being invited to help carry it forward for future generations. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To donate or learn more, visit pickettchapel.com<\/a>, email WCBHC1994@gmail.com<\/a>, or donate through the Wilson County Black History Committee\u2019s Cash App: $Pickettchapel.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The worn, cracked bricks clung to the facade of Pickett Chapel, Lebanon\u2019s oldest brick building still standing. Though the floorboards creaked and the paint peeled inside, one family saw an opportunity to revive its valuable history and preserve a piece of their own family\u2019s story. The Rev. Vincent Harris says it was his mother, Mary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":24127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[6,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-lebanon"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/lebanon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2026\/10\/1-3-1024x683.jpg\")
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