A decade after closing its doors, a former African Methodist Episcopal Church at the corner of Benton Avenue and Central Street will soon start a new chapter.
Drury University announced Wednesday that a significant restoration of the historic building is set to begin thanks to grants totaling more than $3 million and private donations.
The outside work will be done first and include installing a new roof and better windows along with tuckpointing the brickwork.
Once that is complete, a renovation of the interior is planned.
“The historical context of the AME Church is one Drury University is trying to preserve while also furthering our mission to educate students by honoring the legacy of the African-American community in the region and furthering goodwill,” said Drury President Jeff Frederick in a news release.
“The university will renovate and preserve the facility to serve educational purposes and honor Rev. Oliver Brown, the national struggle for civil rights, and especially Brown v. Board of Education.”
Founded in 1867, trustees borrowed money to buy the land and build a wood-frame church on the site. A cornerstone was set in 1922.
The brick structure in place today was completed in 1926 and a parsonage was constructed east of the church in 1952.
For a relatively short period — 1959 through 1961 — Rev. Oliver Brown was pastor. He was part of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that ruled separating children on the basis of race was unconstitutional, paving the way for the Civil Rights movement.
Church membership was more than 500 in 1962 and the church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The church closed its doors in 2014 and was later acquired by the university.
Funding for the structure referred to now as the Benton Avenue Educational Center came from private donations plus the state, Greene County, the university, and The American Rescue Plan Act.
Drury announced the project will be completed in 2025.
Michael Verney, associate professor of history at Drury, plans to gather historic photographs and documents that will highlight the history of the church, issues of race and civil rights in Springfield and the broader struggle for freedom and justice in the U.S.
The artifacts will be preserved and exhibited in the space.
“The goal will be to create an internal walking tour that chronicles the long and continued road to freedom and equality and that unfolds on local, regional, and national scales,” Verney said in the release.
Rosalyn Thomas, associate dean of diversity and inclusion at Drury, said in addition to exhibition and classroom space, the building will also be available to the community.
She noted it will be part of the African-American Heritage Trail and will be a noted attraction for certain programs such as the Black History Summer Academy.
Rev. Brown joined the landmark case because he wanted his daughter Linda — one of three girls born to Brown and his wife, Leola — to enroll at the all-white school near their home in Topeka instead of walking to the all-black school more than a mile away.
More: 'We have to remember our history' — Drury plans to honor Rev. Oliver Brown
In 1959, four years after the Supreme Court decision, Brown accepted an assignment to pastor the Benton Avenue AME church. Linda, by then in high school, enrolled at the adjacent Central High, where she attended until her graduation in 1961.
Rev. Brown died in 1961 and his family moved back to Topeka. In recent decades, members of the Brown family have returned to Springfield, where they have been part of events at Drury and Central.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: College ready to renovate historic Black church in Springfield into education center
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