TEBBETTS - After being vandalized back in January, the Oakley Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church will be moving to a more beneficial location with higher visibility.
According to a news release, MFA Oil Co. announced late last week that it recently transferred the deed for a three-acre strip of property along Highway 94 on May 5 to the AME Church. The land is the former site of a propane storage facility.
Tebbetts residents and AME Church members have their sights set on making the property the new home for the 143-year-old chapel.
"We are pleased to contribute to the church's efforts to preserve the Oakley Chapel by relocating it to the land we have provided," Jon Ihler, president and CEO of MFA Oil, said in the news release. "We're always looking for ways to support the communities we serve, and we're proud to play a role in assisting the church and Tebbetts residents with this effort."
The Oakley Chapel was founded by freed Black residents of southern Callaway County in 1878. The gable front-style church is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.
The chapel and its cemetery sit on a secluded hilltop north of Tebbetts at the intersection of County Roads 485 and 486.
AME Church and Tebbetts community leaders believe that moving Oakley Chapel to a more noticeable site along Highway 94 and the nearby Katy Trail will guard against future vandalism.
"We can't afford to spend money on restoration efforts only for it to be vandalized again," the Rev. Darlene Singer Smith, presiding elder of the AME Church's St. Louis and Columbia District in its Missouri Conference, said in the news release. "Relocating the chapel to a place where more people will be able to see it, appreciate it, and use it, can give it new life."
Smith served as a pastor at Oakley Chapel in the late 1980s, but as the congregation grew smaller, worship there slowed. The last services at the church were in the early 2010s and the building has been vacant in recent years.
Smith is exploring plans to renew interest and the use of Oakley Chapel, including restoring the building to host weddings or opening it to hikers and bikers traveling on the Katy Trail for prayer.
At the chapel's former location, she would like to establish a memorial garden surrounding the cemetery and its gravestones.
"What we can accomplish will be based on our fundraising abilities," Smith said. "But we want to get this project started as soon as we can."
Bishop Clement W. Fugh - the presiding prelate of the AME Church's 5th Episcopal District - commended Smith's resolve in trying to preserve Oakley Chapel's legacy in the Tebbetts community.
"We rejoice that we still have a lighthouse for African Methodism in that area," Fugh said. "We appreciate the generosity of MFA Oil Company for donating this land to our church.
"It will allow us to maintain our historical presence in the community."