by Lisa Schauer
“It doesn’t look like a church, but the owners want to donate it,” said John Bohrer, a member of the Historic Landmark Commission for Town of Bath.
The Historic Landmark Commission seeks to preserve the town’s historic sites.
Commission Chair Priscilla Jones introduced Bohrer before Bath council during her report at a public meeting held on Tuesday, March 3.
The building in question, known by some as “the old Black church,” is located next to Warm Springs Run at the corner of Independence and Green Streets.
Bohrer said he contacted the owners about America250 celebrations, as the building has served as a storage facility in the past.
The owners suggested they just donate the building to the town, Bohrer informed council, noting it could be converted into a history museum.
Mayor Greg Schene said he will contact the property owners for more information, prior to a discussion at the next meeting.
The property was deeded to members of a Black Christian congregation back in 1877, local historian Terry Golden with Morgan County Genealogical and Historical Society said in an interview with The Morgan Messenger.
The congregation built a church on the property, where they could worship freely.
The church was called Mount Pisgah, likely an African Methodist Episcopal, or AME, Church.
Golden noted the Mount Pisgah congregation had a prominent member, Elijah Patterson, a successful local barber who is said to have lived 120 years.
Patterson is buried in Greenway Cemetery.
A Methodist church sold the building in the 1950s. The church steeple was taken down, and the pews were removed.
Golf bags, likely stitched together in the old factory next door, were stored there for a while, and the building has been vacant for years.
Golden said inspections would need to be done to see if the building is even salvageable.
If it is deemed so, Golden believes one of the first orders of business should be to replace the church steeple.
