Wabbaseka United Methodist Church is listed on Preserve Arkansas’ 2017 Most Endangered Places. Special to The Commercial
A Wabbaseka church is among eight sites listed on Preserve Arkansas’ 2017 Most Endangered Places list. The announcement was made May 19 at the historic Fulk Building at Little Rock.
Listed properties include neglected or forgotten cemeteries throughout Arkansas, two ice houses, two rural churches, neighborhood schools slated for closure, and two historically African American neighborhoods, a spokesman said.
Wabbaseka United Methodist Church
From Jefferson County, the list included Wabbaseka United Methodist Church on U.S. 79 and Garrett Lane, c. 1925.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“How does one ‘save’ a church? It might be said that the saving business is supposed to work the other way around — but this time, the usual roles are reversed. Earlier this year, a sign was posted on the doors of the Wabbaseka United Methodist Church, advising readers that due to dwindling attendance, the old church was facing a crisis of continuation,” a spokesman said in a news release.
“Located in northeastern Jefferson County, the Wabbaseka United Methodist Church was organized in 1891 as the Wabbaseka Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The present Classical Revival-style church was constructed in 1925 and is the most architecturally significant building in Wabbaseka. The church’s history ties it and its congregation to Captain Nathaniel Terry Roberts, one of Wabbaseka’s founders. Its other notable historic connection is with Willie Kavanaugh Hocker, a local teacher whose design for the Arkansas state flag was selected to represent the state in 1913. Ms. Hocker was an active member of the Wabbaseka Methodist Episcopal Church, South and lived in a small cottage (no longer standing) behind the church. A historical marker was placed near the church to honor Ms. Hocker’s important contribution to our state,” the spokesman said.
“The 1925 construction of this substantial brick church testifies to the congregation’s onetime vitality within the community — and it is still a building of substance, a well-preserved reminder of Wabbaseka’s prosperous times. The interior of the church retains its original plaster walls, woodwork, pews, and pressed tin ceiling. The window frames are original, although the original glass was replaced at some point by stained glass. The exterior is almost entirely original, apart from a small concrete-block addition. The church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002,” according to the spokesman.
“Like many towns in the Arkansas Delta, Wabbaseka has experienced a decline in population. Its population peaked in the 1970s at over 600; today, the residents number a little more than a third of that. There is no industry and little business, but the town hangs on. The Wabbaseka United Methodist Church has strong historical ties to the community. Its solidity should make it a visual anchor for a town that persists. One might say that the most direct way to “save” a church is to put people in its pews, but absent this, creative thinking is needed to ensure its survival,” according to the spokesman.
Most Endangered Places Program
Arkansas’s Most Endangered Places Program began in 1999 to raise awareness of historically and architecturally significant properties throughout the state that are facing threats such as deterioration, neglect, insufficient funds, insensitive public policy, and inappropriate development.
Preserve Arkansas solicited nominations from people throughout the state. The list is updated each year to generate discussion and support for saving these sites.
The 2017 list also includes:
• Cemeteries, Burial Grounds, and Graveyards (statewide)
• Citizens’ Electric Company Light and Power Plant, Ice House, and Cold Storage Building (Eureka Springs, Carroll County)
• Old Galatia Church (Norfork vic., Baxter County)
• Home Ice Company (Jonesboro, Craighead County)
• Little Rock Public Schools Slated for Closure: Franklin Elementary School and Woodruff Early Childhood Center (Little Rock, Pulaski County)
• Pankey Community (Little Rock, Pulaski County)
• Pleasant Street Historic District (Hot Springs, Garland County)
Visit www.PreserveArkansas.org for photos and information about the 2017 list.