1901-1961 cemetery with associated church.

Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places on 12/04/19

 

SUMMARY 

 

Established in 1901, the Belmont Missionary Baptist Church and Cemetery is the oldest extant resource in the Moscow vicinity representing the African-American post-bellum settlement of southeastern Jefferson County. Aside from the property being established by one of the earliest congregations in the area, reportedly also buried on the grounds of the cemetery are many of the earliest settlers to the area. As such, the Belmont Missionary Baptist Church and Cemetery are being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places, under Criterion A with local significance and Criteria Consideration A, for its use for religious purposes, and Criteria Consideration D, as a cemetery, with a period of significance that spans 1901 to 1961.

 

ELABORATION

 

The nominated property, Belmont Missionary Baptist Church and Cemetery, is located in the rural community of Moscow, in Jefferson County, Arkansas. The property’s importance to the community predates the existing building, going back to at least 1901, when the first building was constructed on the site. As such, the property is significant for its history of African-American settlement in the years following the American Civil War in Arkansas.

 

JEFFERSON COUNTY

 

Jefferson County is situated in the southeastern part of central Arkansas, with the Arkansas River roughly bisecting the county into northeast and southwest halves.Pulaski and Lonoke counties bound Jefferson County to the north, Arkansas and Lincoln counties border it on the east, Cleveland County to the south, and Grant County to the west.

 

Jefferson County was formed on November 2, 1829, and was named in honor of former United States President Thomas Jefferson. It was one of six counties created that year and one of five created on that day. A series of changes were made to the county’s boundaries, which created the present boundaries of the county. These changes took place on November 3, 1831, October 29, 1836, and March 20, 1879.[1] Pine Bluff has always been the Jefferson County seat, even before commissioners officially selected it. The city’s name was derived from the two most prominent features of the area, the abundance of pine trees in the area and the slight increase in elevation of site above the Arkansas River. Initially, the county court was held in a variety of houses within the city of Pine Bluff, generally near the present day downtown area. The first structure erected for the sole purpose of being a county courthouse was completed in 1840, and sat just to the north of the present courthouse, between it and Lake Pine Bluff. However, this building was replaced with the current structure in 1856, which has served as the courthouse since then.[2] It should be noted that the present appearance of the Jefferson County Courthouse is due in large part to a devastating fire that occurred in 1976. Though the interior of the building was almost completely destroyed, the exterior was retained and added on to in the late 1970s to create the present appearance.[3]

 

Jefferson County saw a great deal of prosperity in the early-middle part of the nineteenth century, which was likely due to its rich farmlands and optimal location roughly halfway between the Mississippi River and the Arkansas state capital. The population of the county more than tripled between 1830 and 1840, and more than doubled in the following decade. This population explosion continued at an unabated pace until the turn of the twentieth century. While there was noticeably smaller growth between 1860 and 1870, with an increase of only around 900 residents, such an increase was remarkable given the effects of the American Civil War on Southern populations. The increases in county residents were seen in both white and African-American populations in the county; however, the majority of it took place within the African-American community. By 1860, the white and African-American populations in Jefferson County were roughly equal; however, in the following decades the African-American population outpaced the white, outnumbering them by more than double within a decade. By 1900, there were almost three times as many African-Americans in Jefferson County as white residents. While the degree of population difference between the two groups lessen in further decades, the African Americans remained the dominant population up through present times.[4]

 

Though Pine Bluff held a strategic position on the Arkansas River, military action in the area during the American Civil War was rather sparse, in comparison to other parts of the state. For the first half of the war, the only military action of any kind to take place in the county was the recruitment and organization of infantry regiments. However, a Union force under the command of General Powell Clayton peaceably captured Pine Bluff in late 1863, despite Confederate efforts, under the command of General Marmaduke, to retake the city that same year. Union forces would continue to control the majority of Jefferson County for remainder of the war.[5]

 

In the post-bellum period, industry in the county, which was chiefly composed of cotton and corn farming and timber operations, grew at a tremendous rate. This economic prosperity allowed the development of Pine Bluff into the third largest city in the state of Arkansas.[6] While much of the agriculture industry was comprised of large plantations operations, several smaller farming operations in the county were also quite successful. White residents, with African-American residents working as sharecroppers or tenant farmers, owned many of the large postbellum plantations. However, there were several plantations owned by well-to-do African-American citizens as well. Of special note was Wiley Jones of Pine Bluff, an African-American man, who also owned the local streetcar company and was said to be one of the most powerful planters in the county.[7] The completion of a rail-line from Pine Bluff to Chicot, roughly half way between Lake Village and Eudora, in 1869 and the completion of a rail-line from Pine Bluff to Little Rock in 1882 provided increasingly easy access to the vast farmlands of the county. This new rail traffic also spurred the creation of several small communities along its lines. Among these was the community of Moscow.

 

MOSCOW

 

Moscow is an unincorporated community located in southwestern corner of Jefferson County. Though there is not any census data available specifically for Moscow, there are census records for Richland Township, where the community is located. The township contains two other unincorporated communities in addition to Moscow, called Linwood and Tamo, but no incorporated cities or towns.Records show that the township experienced a similar increase in population to Jefferson County between 1870, the earliest available census year, and 1910, when it reached a maximum population of 2,825.[8] However, from 1910 to 1970, the population within the township steadily decreased, eventually returning to roughly the same population that it had in the mid-nineteenth century. The census records show that during the latter part of the nineteenth century the population of the township was overwhelmingly African-American, with only a few white households. A significant portion of the African-American male population worked as farmers or laborers, while the white population seemed to be an equal mix of merchants and farmers.

 

The first post office to be established in the area was in 1874 in the community of Linwood, roughly half a mile to the northwest of Moscow. However, by 1905 this post office had moved from Linwood to Moscow, serving both communities jointly.[9] The only other post office in the township was in Tamo, which was opened in 1900 and closed in 1967. Unfortunately, there is no published or recorded history of the communities of Linwood or Moscow. Because of this, details of the communities’ history are sparse and generally in the form of local anecdotes. According to current residents, the area was home to primarily sharecroppers and tenant farmers, with much of the land being owned by wealthy white families.[10] This claim is reinforced by census data, where the majority of residents had their occupation recorded simply as laborer, opposed to farmer.

 

BELMONT MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

 

According to local sources, the congregation of Belmont Missionary Baptist Church was formed in 1863.[11] However, it appears that the first structure to be constructed on the site was completed in 1901, according to a surviving cornerstone. Samuel L. Woolfolk was the pastor of the church at the time. He served in that position from at least 1901 until 1913. Directly prior to Woolfolk becoming the pastor at the church, he served as one of twelve African-American legislators to be elected to the Arkansas General Assembly in the years directly following the American Civil War. Woolfolk was first elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1888 and managed to successfully win reelection for the following six terms, eventually leaving state government after having lost the 1900 election, when the state returned much the same political climate as it had been before the war.[12] According to local sources, Woolfolk also operated a small school out of the building. This claim was also reinforced in Story Matkin-Rawn’s article “The Great Negro State of the Country: Arkansas’s Reconstruction and the Other Great Migration,” where she says that Woolfolk “farmed, bought land, taught school, and raised a family of seven with his wife, Viola Birdsong.”[13] However, it is not known how long the school was in operation, only that it ceased to exist during the early 1900s. Additionally, the church also acted as the social center of the community, as there were few other buildings that could serve as such a purpose. As such, the Belmont Missionary Baptist Church was a centralizing force in the life of the Moscow community, as it was the gathering place of the residents for almost every conceivable occasion, including all major holidays and celebrations.[14] Unfortunately, the original 1901 building was lost to a fire around 1945. Aside from the loss of this important structure, all of the church records and history were also lost to the blaze. This tragic event is the primary reason why so little information exists on the history of the community and congregation. Around 1947, the current church building was constructed. Due to the moderate means of the community and likely in response to the destruction of the previous building, the new church was built out of concrete block, as it was both flame-retardant and economically practical. The building originally contained a sanctuary in the front with smaller classroom spaces and restrooms stretching across the rear. It was also fronted by pedimented portico, which was enclosed in 1961 to create a small foyer and additional restrooms. Services for the congregation continued to be held in the building until 2014, when the last pastoral appointee left the church. Since that time, the church has primarily been used as a chapel for funeral services at the cemetery; however, the structure also has hosted community homecoming celebrations, echoing its use as a type of community center for residents of times past.

 

BELMONT MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY

 

The cemetery at Belmont Missionary Baptist Church serves as the resting place for some of the original African-American settlers in the area. It appears that the cemetery was created around the same time as the original church building, as the earliest graves date to 1903, just two years after the construction of the original structure. As such, the cemetery is the oldest African-American resource in the Moscow community. According to members of the community, a significant number of the unmarked graves belong to freed slaves who moved to the area in the years immediately following the American Civil War. [15] Additionally, a monument in the cemetery says that the grounds are dedicated to the African-American men and women who may have participated as Buffalo Soldiers during various wars, as well as being dedicated to slaves and tenant farmers of the area. However, there is not any evidence that any veterans or fallen soldiers were buried in the original cemetery. Instead, they were more likely buried across the road in the Belmont Missionary Baptist Cemetery #2, which features several government markers. It appears that the original cemetery was no longer in regular use after 1921, as the earliest burial in the cemetery expansion dates to this time. The only exceptions to this were the graves of Rachel Brown Conley (1929) and Anita Johnson (1924), which were buried next to their respective spouses who had passed away prior to 1920. A full list of the known, marked burials within the cemetery are as follows:

 

Joshua Conley (1902-1904)

William Conley (1860-1906)

Susie Hurley (1874-1908)

Lewis Goodwin (1865-1911)

B.H. Hill (1866-1915)

Clifton Owens (1865-1916)

Cyrus White (1889-1917)

C.J. Jackson (1882-1918)

Sallie Long (Unknown-1918)

Mollie Owen Joplin (1882-1920)

Anita Johnson (Unknown-1924)

Rachel Brown Conley (1879-1929)

 

CONCLUSION

 

Though the absence of documented history of the church and community, as well as the installation of vinyl siding on the church, make the Belmont Missionary Baptist Church and Cemetery ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the property is the oldest existing resource that best represents and pays tribute to the early African-American settlers in the Moscow area.However, the significance of the property is not limited to the earliest burials or religious affiliations of the church. The property also served as a vital social and communal hub for early local residents as well as many of the following generations. Though religious services, aside from funerals, are no longer held on the site and the fact many of the descendants of the founding families have moved away, the grounds are still a reminder of the lives of those that worked build and establish a vibrant African-American community in the years following the American Civil War. As such, the Belmont Missionary Baptist Church and Cemetery is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places with local significance under Criterion A, because of its association with the post-bellum African-American settlement of the Moscow area, with Criterion Consideration A, for its use for religious purposes, and Criterion Consideration D, as a cemetery, and a period of significance from 1901 to 1961.

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

• Arkansas Historical Census Data. “Population by Township 1870-1910.” Found at https://aedi.ualr.edu/?id=171:population-by-township-1870-1910&catid=1&tmpl=component. Accessed on 16 September 2019.
• Baker, Russell P. Arkansas Post Offices From Memdag to Norsk: A Historical Directory: 1832-1990. Little Rock: Arkansas Genealogical Society, Inc., 2006, pgs. 131 and 153.
• Bearden, Russell E. “Pine Bluff (Jefferson County).” Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Encyclopediaofarkansas.net (accessed September 11, 2019).
• Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland, and Hot Spring Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889.

Census State Data Center. “Population by Race and County 1870-1900 and 1910-1940.” Found at https://aedi.ualr.edu/arkansas-census-data/161-arkansas-historical-census-data.html. Accessed on 30 August 2019.

• Interview with Christine Watson on 16 September 2019.
• Matkin-Rawn, Story. “The Great Negro State of the Country: Arkansas’s Reconstruction and the Other Great Migration,” Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. Volume LXXII, Number 1, Spring 2013, pg. 35-36.

Wilcox, Ralph. “Pine Bluff Commercial Historic District, Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas.” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. From the files of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 2008.

[2] Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland, and Hot Spring Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889, pg. 132.

[3] Wilcox, Ralph. “Pine Bluff Commercial Historic District, Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas.” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. From the files of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 2008.

[4] Census State Data Center. “Population by Race and County 1870-1900 and 1910-1940.” Found at https://aedi.ualr.edu/arkansas-census-data/161-arkansas-historical-census-data.html. Accessed on 30 August 2019.

[5] Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland, and Hot Spring Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889, pg. 138.

[6] Bearden, Russell E. “Pine Bluff (Jefferson County).” Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Encyclopediaofarkansas.net (accessed September 11, 2019).

[7] Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland, and Hot Spring Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889, pg. 131.

[8] Arkansas Historical Census Data. “Population by Township 1870-1910.” Found at https://aedi.ualr.edu/?id=171:population-by-township-1870-1910&catid=1&tmpl=component. Accessed on 16 September 2019.

[9] Baker, Russell P. Arkansas Post Offices From Memdag to Norsk: A Historical Directory: 1832-1990. Little Rock: Arkansas Genealogical Society, Inc., 2006, pgs. 131 and 153.

[10] Interview with Christine Watson on 16 September 2019.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Matkin-Rawn, Story. “The Great Negro State of the Country: Arkansas’s Reconstruction and the Other Great Migration,” Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. Volume LXXII, Number 1, Spring 2013, pg. 35-36.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Interview with Christine Watson on 16 September 2019.

[15] Interview with Christine Watson on 16 September 2019.