Butler Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church

Butler Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was founded in 1867 as an affiliate of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. It is named for its first pastor, Rev. Lewis Butler, who donated the land where the church stands. As the earliest organized religious and social institution fully controlled by African Americans in Greenville, it is also the oldest known independent Black congregation in Greenville. Its broad community influence is evident in the establishment of Butler County's earliest known high school for African Americans, Lomax-Hannon, in 1893. The original church building provided classroom space for the high school from 1893 until 1898, when property for the school was purchased. After a 1911 fire destroyed the original 1867 building, the current church building was constructed in 1913. Forty-two pastors have served the church over its 156 year history, and Rev. Dr. James E. Cook, a local civil rights and community activist, served the longest, for forty years from 1961 to 2001. The church was listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on January 31, 1979, and in the National Register of Historic Places on September 4, 1986.

Greenville, Alabama · United States