A local Warren County woman’s efforts to restore a historically Black church facing resistance from current church trustees.
Barbara Dalton said the building served as a combined school and church for the Black community during segregation. Dalton said her uncle, Garfield Brown, donated the property. Dalton said the structure functioned as a school for grades one through eight and acted as an emergency hub where a bell would be rung to alert the community during crises.
“When you’re that close to it, it’s just very it’s very emotional and it’s important to everyone,” Dalton said. “Not just my family, not just the Black community, it’s important to everyone to understand the history and and how it was at that time.”
Dalton said the building is currently being used for storage and has not been properly maintained by the current church leadership. Dalton said she has offered to restore the building to its original aesthetic for free, but her attempts to coordinate with the trustees have been ignored or rebuffed.
“What’s the difference in having someone who has the knowledge, who has the ability to restore it authentically, and can do it for free?” Dalton said. “My time would be no cost. And plus I have a history, my family is the reason it exists, so I have no idea what the pushback is. I haven’t heard from anyone. And actually, a couple individuals there are my family that are the trustees.”
Dalton said one individual in charge told her the building would be used for another purpose before hanging up on her. Dalton said she first inquired about the project three years ago and is now seeking public awareness to encourage the trustees to meet with her.
“I just want it to take it back just the way it was and put it on the National Historic Register so I’m hoping that I’m hoping that they can understand that,” Dalton said. “I guess everybody has a different idea of how maybe I just don’t want it to be just a regular church you know they take the siding off, replace it with some other type of exterior material and not make it aesthetically pleasing to that period.”
Dalton said her vision for the site includes a museum and a family tree to honor those who sacrificed during the era of segregation. Dalton said the building is small, measuring approximately 20 by 24 feet, but could host family reunions or educational classes for children.
“I would just in honor of those before me that that donated that church which was my uncle, those other ones who my other uncles and aunts and cousins who went there and sacrificed and had to endure those times I just want to remember them and I want to make a family tree in there and donate the the documents and the the items that I have so so it can be enjoyed and and for educational purposes for our future generations,” Dalton said.
Dalton said the history of the area is reflected in its name, as the Brown family still owns the majority of the land in Browntown. Dalton said she remembers being baptized in the church and participating in school programs where children received bags of fruit and candy.
“I just think it’ll put give them an understanding of how important this is and I think eventually it will happen,” Dalton said.
