The Alexander Chapel Baptist Church and Cemetery, located at #39 Short Sluder Branch Road (off of Alexander Rd in Leicester, NC) is a historic site with cultural and personal connections for many in the region. Family members of those who are buried here may remember the homecoming gatherings and happy events once held on the property — or think of visiting the church site and cemetery as “going home.” Family names of those buried in the cemetery include: Barnard, Penland, Gudger, Lowery, Roberts, Horne, McElrath, McAfee, Whitson, Love, Stevens, Ferguson, Butler, and more.
Since 2015, Annette Penland Coleman has been coordinating upkeep and inspiring folks to get involved with preservation of the church and cemetery. “The cemetery preservation is coming along,” she says. “We’ve had more donations coming in over the past year to pay for cutting the grass and maintaining the drive. We partnered with Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, and their help has been such a blessing.”
Thanks to generous descendants of family and community, in 2021 a new sign for the historic church was installed on the site.
However, this important “home” needs more hands and support to give it the care it requires. Can you help?
For questions or more info, contact Annette Coleman at (828) 230-0629 or annette-coleman@att.net.
History
According to a history pamphlet written by DoRothea Goodman Williams in 1984, “The beginnings of the Alexander Chapel Baptist marked the birth of an independent Black denomination in the Leicester Township of Buncombe County. On June 28, 1889, the Trustees of the Colored Missionary Baptist Church were granted a parcel of land by John F. Alexander and wife of Leicester Township. In the deed recorded in the Buncombe County Courthouse, ‘one lot of land which adjoined the land of the Colored District School House’ was sold to the Trustees for one dollar.”
Williams continues, “The Church was thriving in its early years as a result of the sizable Black population… According to the 1900 Census of Leicester Township, there were 131 Black residents. Most of the adults listed their occupations as farmers, washwomen, or day laborers.” Land for the cemetery was conveyed in 1907.
African-American Community Site
The church and cemetary site were adjacent to a school for African-American children in the rural Leicester and Alexander area. The school structure (pictured above) no longer exists — making it all the more imperative that the remaining structure and cemetary property be properly preserved. Photo shared by Charles Barnard: Students outside Leicester School, with Alexander Chapel Baptist Church in the background.
Black community members buried in the cemetary made significant contributions to the prosperity of the region, and their stories are important to the legacy of land and people in the Southern Appalachians.
Volunteer Cemetery Clean-Up
In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2020, a group of AmeriCorps Project Conserve members and SAHC staff volunteers joined Annette Penland Coleman, Deborah Sloan, and Richard Butler on site. They focused on cleaning up leaves and debris around the cemetery site, mulching part of a large pile of brush and downed trees that had been previously cleared on the site, trimming low branches to make visiting grave sites easier, and installing a new lock on the church doors.
Since then, multiple volunteer days have been hosted with other folks, including descendants’ families and community volunteers. See the annual newsletters below for some of the updates.
Make Donations To: Alexander Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery Fund c/o Annette Coleman, PO Box 6082, Asheville, NC 28816.
Children beside school building (church in background)
Bert Roberts of Bert Mountain
Henry Barnard a well known Blacksmith from our community
Latta Frances McElrath & wife Christine Harris McElrath, buried in cemetary
Delia McMickens
Bert Roberts and Sam Penland
Etta Barnard and Son George
Lorena and Sterling Roberts
Harrison Lowery
Winfield Gudger, a well known well digger and tobacco farmer
Rev Anderson Wilson and Rev Joe Smith
Harold Love and Rev Baker
Annette Coleman at mother's grave
