Jennings Chapel United Methodist Church History of the Structures

The Beginning Jennings Chapel United Protestant/Methodist Church was established through the dedication of five families, Hamner, Harper, Williams, Sutton and Jones. On January 4, 1850, the church and its trustees purchased two acres from Daniel and Evaline Hamner for ten dollars. Deeded to the trustees of Jennings Chapel; John G. Hamner, his son Richard Harvie, his nephew Turner Pendleton (William’s son), Dr. Samuel K. Jennings and John Henry Harper, and their successors in office; the land was “to include the Meeting House and graveyard”

Illustration of How Original Log Church may have appeared First Structure Utilizing the woods around them, these early Methodist men and others, using skill and muscle power, created the first sanctuary entirely out of hand-hewn logs. Walls, pews, and even the altar were crafted from this basic and solid source. Logs, split open and turned flat side up, had holes chiseled or hand bored on either end with pegs inserted as legs on the rounded side. Oral history tells us that this log church was large with shuttered glassless windows and low doorways Illustration of How Original Log Church may have appeared

Second Structure By 1890, the Jennings Chapel congregation saw their way clear to build a new, more modern church, a frame building with its outside lapboard walls painted white. The new church, opened in November 1890, and dedicated the following spring, had a high pitched roof, shuttered windows and two front doors; one for men and the other for women, who sat on opposite sides of the aisle in God’s house in those days. “Almost Thou Persuadest Me to Be A Christian” was the title given to the first sermon preached in this proud new sanctuary by the then-senior Rev. John Henry Harper, age seventy-six.

May God bless us and all the rest. A Memory The piece of wood to the right is from a lectern built on May 5, 1891. It was discovered when the building was torn down sixty-five years later. On it are these names and words, written in pencil and spelled as follows:   Jon C. Powell (Rev. John C. Powell) Will Sutton (probably William Sutton, Jr., brother of James Robert Sutton) J.B. Mathes (probably Joseph R. Mathies) Built this stand to day. May God bless us and all the rest. In God we trust. J. C. Powell

Third Structure Seemingly in step with the mind-set of these modern times, Jennings Chapel Methodist Church carried on its plans to replace the old white, plank-sided sanctuary with a new, modern brick church building to house the growing congregation. Construction began February 8, 1954. Between the passing of the resolution in 1948 and the commencement of construction over five years later, much creative fund raising and utilization of assets and resources had taken place.

Fourth Structure Services were held in the completed educational building for the next three and a half years, until the new ‘auditorium’ (sanctuary) was completed. The plank-sided church was sold to another congregation and moved away. It was time for the new church to be built. The Jennings Chapel gothic style sanctuary—designed by Schuyler—with its exposed laminate-wood arches gracefully spanning the sanctuary ceiling, is a serene house of worship that has been a treasure to its congregation.

Interior The architect chosen to design the new Jennings Chapel sanctuary was as busy and prosperous in the 1950’s as the decade itself. His list of clients and commissions included some of the most prominent and interesting persons and buildings in Tuscaloosa and West Alabama where his designs were popular and in-demand. It isn’t only the design work of architect Don Schuyler (seventy-four structures in Alabama alone) that make his personal and professional story stand out, but the mentoring role of a famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, who influenced the direction of Schuyler’s designs throughout his career.