Name/Title
Laying the Cornerstone of the Centenary ChurchEntry/Object ID
2020.574.001Description
A photograph showing the laying of the cornerstone ceremony of the Centenary Church in May of 1921. A sign in the mid-ground proclaims the engineers and contractors as McDevitt-Fleming Company.
Centenary traces its history to 1839 when their congregation met in a log cabin at the corner of Lookout Street and Georgia Avenue. In 1844, the Methodist churches in the South seceded from the rest of the Methodist churches over the issue of slavery. The Chattanooga Methodists became a part of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In 1847, they moved into a new facility at Fifth and Lookout Streets which was called the “Pepperbox Church” because of its square-shaped belfry. That building was considerably damaged during the Civil War, and the congregation had no formal meeting place for several years. Beginning in 1870, the church was located at Eighth and Market Streets, which was later the site of the D. B. Loveman’s Store.
In 1885, a new church home was dedicated at the northeast corner of Eighth and Lindsay Streets. The congregation chose the name “Centenary” in honor of the 100th anniversary of Methodism in the United States. Centenary continued to grow, and in 1908, acquired property at the corner of McCallie Avenue and Lindsay Street. Dr. T. H. McCallie’s former home there was used as a church annex until 1920, when the congregation of 1,500 voted to build a new sanctuary. Rev. E. E. Wiley, Sr., the father of the aforementioned Dr. Wiley, led the raising of funds.
Dr. J. A. Baylor, a former minister of the church, used his background in architecture to design the new sanctuary. The church was in a classical Greek style, with large columns of Tennessee marble and a tiled roof. Above the front doors were inscribed certain scriptures, including the Psalm, “Enter into His gates with praise, and into His courts with thanksgiving.” In the 1950’s, Centenary added an education building and chapel.
Courtesy of Harmon Jolley (Chattanoogan.com)Photograph Details
Subject Person or Organization
Centenary M.E. Church SouthCollection
Chattanooga Area Religious CollectionCopyright
Type of License
No Copyright - United States