While driving around Cambridge and the surrounding towns,
I came across this beautiful, historic church.
I was intrigued by the interesting graveyard
on the property adjacent to and across the street from
the building, so I pulled over and took a closer look.
I had no information about the church other than the plaque
above the door that read,
"1812-1891
Scott's Chapel
Bucktown
Methodist Church"
Because this area is so low in elevation and close
to the water table,
the vaults that hold the caskets are barley
buried under the ground.
Most of the vaults can be seen above ground,
which is so different than I what I am used to.
I noticed the cemetery across the street seemed more in disarray
and less taken care of than the cemetery directly behind the church.
I vowed to do some research when I arrived home to find out more information
about this interesting building.
which nominates the structure and the graveyards to be
listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
I will summarize a bit for you,
but it is worth the time to check out the full document.
The church was founded in 1812 and was
attended by both enslaved and freed African Americans
as well as white citizens.
The graveyards were segregated,
the African American cemetery was located across the street
while the white cemetery was adjacent to the church grounds.
It is possible that Harriet Tubman
and her family worshipped here.
(The information in this paragraph was gathered from
this site.)
The land that this church stands on was donated by
John Scott in the year 1858,
as indicated on a corner stone of the church.
It is believed he owned the adjacent land as his family farm.
There are Scott family members buried in the cemetery
and the dates on the tombstones date back to 1792.
The current church building is a small frame chapel constructed in 1891.
The structure has been altered from the original;
the foundation being on bricks,
probably replacing the original brick piers.
I am glad I took the time to stop and photograph this piece of history
and I truly hope you enjoyed learning a bit about this treasure.
⓽