History of Hickman Chapel & Cemetery Print Email Hickman Chapel, a small, white, frame church with an enormous steeple sits on a slight knoll about 20 miles south of Bessemer, Alabama on Eastern Valley Road. A church cemetery lies amidst ancient cedars, oaks and elms that shade the older section. Hickman Chapel is nondenominational. It is leased to any faith without a building to hold services and is most always in use. A first Sunday in May Homecoming is held at the church each year. There is no written history, but Mrs. Lexie Payne left us with an account of the past. Mrs. Payne told that in the early twenties there were two small churches located less than a mile apart, a church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) and a Pentecostal church. The Pentecostal church was pastored by a Reverend Oliver Hubbard. The Mormon Bishop (unknown at this time) and Reverend Hubbard were friends. Their congregations had dwindled and the two building were inadequate. The two men decided to tear down the buildings and build Hickman Chapel together. Ten acres of land was donated by Mr. Bruce Acker and Mr. Tom Abernathy in order that the cemetery could be enlarged. One congregation came at 10 a.m. and left at Noon. The other congregation came at noon and held service until 2 p.m. This arrangement worked well for many years. As the two men began to age they made a declaration that Hickman Chapel could never be organized, but any denomination without a place to worship could use the church until the church was solvent sufficiently to build their own house of worship. This dictate stands today. Reverend Oliver Hubbard - Founder of Hickman ChapelReverend Oliver Hubbard - Founder of Hickman Chapel Reverend Oliver Hubbard - Founder of Hickman Chapel Hickman Chapel sat under the knoll until 1946 when it was moved to the present sight using equipment loaned by Mr. Elliot Belcher, Belcher Lumber Company, Green Pond, Alabama. Mr. Elbert Johnson directed the move and operated the winch attached to the truck and fastened to a tree. A Board of Trustees’ is voted to serve the church by the public. Donations are collected at the First Sunday in May service each year. A caretaker selected by the Board of Trustees’ maintains the grounds and cemetery. EARLY CHURCH MEMBERS OF THE PENTECOSTAL CHURCH PASTORED BY REVEREND OLIVER HUBBARD WERE……. Mrs. Sarah Williams Mr. Nickson Reverend Herb Bracknell Mr, Pierce Caffee Mr. Hudson Mrs. Ruby Mooskey Mrs. Bell Goodwin Mrs. Hattie Smith Mrs. Rosie Poole Mrs. Rennie Smith Mrs. Mae Visit Mrs. Mary Foster Mr. Newell Foster Mr. Visit Lish Green Mr. Ben Wideman Mrs. Jenny Taft Mr. Claude Shackleford Dell Abernathy Mrs. Nancy Jordan Mrs. Annie Russell Grandma McDougal WE CONTINUE TO SEARCH FOR THE NAME OF THE BISHOP WHO FOUNDED THE CHURCH WITH REVEREND HUBBARD AND FOR THE NAMES OF MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS AT THIS PERIOD IN THE CHURCH HISTORY. BILL HUBBARD MAY BE CONTACTED AT [email protected] or (205) 481-2816 or (205) 601-6558
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:36:18 +0000
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