Collins Academy

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A Recently Found Artifact

While moving heavy equipment involved in the roof replacement, UMBC restoration workers inadvertently uncovered an historic Caddo Indian artifact next to the sanctuary. It was a surface find exposed by abrasion and erosion in an area that has revealed similar artifacts according to an informant.

This 4 cm by 3 cm stone object is made of local chert and has been “worked” to produce a cutting edge for scrapping and slicing.

Chert is a sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline silicon dioxide. It breaks with a conchoidal fracture, often producing very sharp edges. Early people took advantage of how chert breaks and used it to fashion cutting tools and weapons. The name “flint” is also used with this material. The rock may have come from the river below the site and was conveniently knapped to separate hide from the meat of the kill when needed.

The site where the sanctuary stands shows evidence of having been a campsite for Native Americans some time before the removal of the Caddo Indians to Oklahoma.

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UMBC Roof Replaced

Bent rafters which had to be replaced

Within the Union Missionary Baptist Church (UMBC) restoration process is an initial discovery step where current conditions are examined. Much of the inquiry into the roof’s condition detected deteriorated lumber requiring limited repair and copious replacement. Rafters and joists were broken, bent, or rotten while the decking was warped and rotten.

New roof joists going in at UMBC

Our careful work crew was extremely meticulous to repair and leave good materials in place when found. “The new joists, decking, and singles make the roof better than ever,” said general contractor Danny Hurt. Old materials removed in previous roofing jobs were discovered in the attic continuing the story of re-purpose, reuse, and make do with what is at hand.

New roof with green shingles finished

The earliest congregation associated with the UMBC dates back to the early 1840’s. The property was donated to local slaves then to allow them their own place of worship in town. The first structure was erected by 1847. Unfortunately due to racial tension, the church became a target by the Knights of the Rising Sun. In 1868, after several attempts to destroy the church, unfortunately the KRS was successful in burning the church. It wouldn’t be until 1883 that the church would be deeded back to the congregation, and the current structure was built. Services at the UMBC continued until 1996, with on final service led by Rev. Al Green in 2011.

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Clues to the Past

Was it American Indians or Union Soldiers?

Archaeological work on lots 7, 8, and 9 of Block 86 of the Urquhart Addition in Jefferson, Texas, during the spring, summer, and fall of 2017 has revealed evidence of almost continuous human occupation of the Union Missionary Baptist Church site over the last several thousand years. “This hilltop site would have provided a perfect perch for overlooking Big Cypress Bayou and accessing its resources. The higher elevation would have also presented more wind and thus the location would have fewer mosquitoes and other flying insect infestations and the sandy soil would have rapidly drained the heaviest rains. All this would have been advantageous to hunter-gatherers at this location,” stated Project Director Gary Endsley.

One of the problems with analysis of finds is that local collectors have been removing artifacts from the site for several years prior to this work.  A local informant recently indicated that “Indian arrowheads” and various artifacts from the federal occupation during Reconstruction have been
removed and some are in his possession. Unfortunately, by removing artifacts from their primary context (or their original location) in the soil, we lose information that can be obtained from the sedimentary layers.

In archaeology, the Laws of Stratigraphy and Superposition are used to determine relative chronologic age and the time sequence of vertically excavated finds. Basically, the older artifacts will be buried deeper and the younger layers are above the older layers. The deeper an excavation gets, the farther back in time it goes. Artifacts found in the same stratigraphic layer are of approximately the same age and are said to be in context with each other. It is from this contextual relationship that cultural analysis emerges. When relics are removed from this context, all that information is lost. It is like trying to read a book with important pages missing.

Figure 1

Figure 1 is a photo of the bottom of Excavation Unit 6 at the 30 cm level (almost 1 ft). About 15 cm down, a dense charcoal lens is present indicating the remains of burned material which is likely the church built in 1847 and burned during Reconstruction by the Knights of the Rising Sun. In this dark band are charcoal chunks and a piece of orange brick that was probably part of a pier to the first structure. At bottom right of Figure 1 on the floor of Excavation Unit 6, Level 3, is a charcoal circle that extends downward some 30 cm and may be post mold from a Caddoan house. It could also be post mold from a Union soldier’s lean to shelter as they were stationed on the hill top for 2.5 years, December 1868 until May 1871. As Anthropologist Kari Dickson explains “the presence of post molds indicates that at some point in the sedimentary history, an external force drove the top layer of the soil into lower layers. Or, in this case an individual likely drove a post into the soil, leaving the top soil at the base of the post.” When the post decays, it leaves post hole mold in place.

Figure 2

Figure 2 and Figure 3 are from Excavation Unit 8, 2 m SSE of Excavation Unit 6. At the 30 cm level, 4 possible post holes are observable in Figure 2. At 50 cm in figure 3, only the two outermost markings are still present extending slightly into level 6 where they disappear.

The conundrum is this. We have artifacts showing the presence of Union soldiers and we know they arrived less than three months after the burning of the first church built on this site. We also have 127 Native American artifacts from our recent work. All but one of these are chert (flint) flakes and pieces. There is one sherd of Caddoan pottery. Most of the chert and the small pottery sherd were found in context with the first church above 30 cm from the surface.

Figure 3

A few other flakes and pieces of chert along with chunks of ocher were found 50-70 cm down indicating an archaic cultural presence several thousand years ago.

It is hoped that the stolen cultural materials will be returned to become part of the assemblage of artifacts that tell a complete and accurate story as part of the heritage center’s interpretive displays. Looting of archaeological sites disrupts proper scientific examination which better preserves our fascinating heritage.

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Ceiling Raised at Mother Church

Temporary framing being used to raise and support original bead board ceiling.

Over the past several days, General Contractor Danny Hurt and his careful restoration crew have been busy raising the 1883 ceiling back to its original position overlooking the sanctuary of historic Union Missionary Baptist Church. Via the skillful use of ladders, jacks, and various sized timbers, Hurt is raising the sagging bead boards and securing them with heavy duty but temporary framing. Later, after roof joists are repaired above, the bead boards will be permanently reattached to them and the framing will be removed.

According to Hurt, once the bead boards are reattached to the roof joists, they will be repainted to match the original sky blue color that resides under the green paint that covers them now.

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Historic Church Awakens

The historic Union Missionary Baptist Church, constructed in 1847, was the first church where slaves and freedmen could independently gather for worship services. The church was burned to the ground in 1868 and reconstructed in 1883.

Over the years, the church had fallen into disrepair, but today, thanks to the concern and determination of Richard Collins, founder of the Today Foundation in Dallas, staff members of Jefferson’s Collins Academy and a force of dedicated community volunteers, new life is being breathed back into the church. Initially scheduled for demolition, members of the Marion County Historical Commission joined forces with Collins to rescue the church, Collins said,

“We wanted this historic location to be more than a vacant lot with a marker standing in the middle of it. We could have lost the history and the structure to bulldozers or saved it from them, so we chose the latter.”

People driving by the location, in recent months, have noticed considerable activity at the site as volunteers have been involved in architectural excavation of the grounds surrounding the church. The grounds surrounding the church have given up numerous items of interest including personal artifacts of the early congregation and most recently an outdoor brick baptistry.

In the coming months, the church will undergo major changes in appearance during its journey toward rehabilitation as a premier heritage center for public use. Gary Endsley, Executive Director for Collins Academy, is asking anyone who may have photographs, church programs, memorabilia, or stories pertaining to the history of the church to drop them by Collins Academy to discuss their inclusion in the church archives and future interpretive displays.