The “Extending the Stories of Center Point” project will contribute meaningfully to the past, present, and future of an underserved rural community of color, a place whose stories will otherwise be lost to time. This project diversifies our understanding of Giles County’s history by highlighting African-American agricultural communities – an often-overlooked element of the rural experience. With this work we can preserve these human stories and ensure their accessibility and usefulness. 

Center Point’s story 

           The “Stories of Center Point” exhibit has been on display at Wolf Gap’s Education Center since the building’s opening in the spring of 2021, honoring the memory of the Center Point community. From the 1870s through the 1950s, Center Point was a rural African-American community located near present-day Wolf Gap. Historically, residents maintained the Center Point Missionary Baptist Church & School as well as two cemeteries. Though the Center Point community has faded from modern view, with the “Stories of Center Point” exhibit we offer one way to remember those who made their lives at Center Point.  

            Wolf Gap’s work with historic Center Point began in 2017 when a local landowner discovered an unmarked cemetery on their land. Research by Wolf Gap volunteers revealed that it was, in fact, the Old Center Point cemetery. The Old Center Point cemetery likely began before the Civil War as a burying ground for African-Americans enslaved on nearby farms. In 1874 local Black farmer, blacksmith, and U.S. Army veteran William Anderson purchased the cemetery lot from white farmer Freeman Birdsong. The Anderson family and other Center Point community members maintained the lot as a cemetery for decades, with the final burial being noted in the 1930s. Careful estimates show that there are as many as 140 people buried at Old Center Point. The cemetery is not currently organized with a cemetery association, nor is it delineated on the present land deed. The current landowner has asked Wolf Gap to continue our work on the cemetery and to advise on the best way forward.

            Center Point Missionary Baptist Church & School, though no longer operational, still stands on private land in close proximity to present-day Wolf Gap. In the 1850s, a “common country school” existed at Center Point for the children of local white families who could pay tuition. In 1884, local white farmer John H. Birdsong sold that “School House Lot” to the African-American Deacons of Center Point Church. These families established a Missionary Baptist Church at Center Point soon thereafter. They constructed a small single-story church building on the site, which also served as a school for local Black students. That building burned in 1909 and was replaced with a two-story building which served as church, school, and fraternal lodge. Church members built a new concrete block building in the 1940s, which still stands today. Center Point ceased to function as a school in the late 1950s, but continued to serve as a church until the late 1970s. The present landowner, who is the same individual who owns the Old Center Point Cemetery, has asked Wolf Gap to advise on the best approach for the extant building.

            Wolf Gap has connected with surviving Center Point community members and descendants, including individuals who attended school at Center Point, grandchildren of those who lived and worshipped at Center Point, and descendants of those buried at Old Center Point. These descendants have joined Wolf Gap on multiple visits to Old Center Point and to Center Point Church. In some cases they have become Wolf Gap board members, donors, and volunteers.

Now is the time to invest in their stories and histories.

            Wolf Gap received a SHARP grant from Humanities Tennessee in January of 2022 which is funding the “Extending the Stories of Center Point” project. In the spring of 2022 we recorded interviews with Mr. Mitchell Birdsong, Mr. John Alfred Birdsong, and Mrs. Lena Brown Prince to document their memories of their time at Center Point or their families’ time in the community. We have digitized dozens of family photographs to bring to life the names of Center Point community members.

            On October 30, 2022, we invited Center Point descendants to join us for the first-ever Center Point Homecoming event to celebrate, remember, and discuss the future of the historic Center Point Missionary Baptist Church & School. Click here to open the 2022 Center Point Homecoming Program.

            The current “Stories of Center Point” exhibit will be replaced by an updated, expanded exhibit incorporating new findings and research. This new exhibit will also be available digitally. (New exhibit opening TBD)

This project is funded in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the NEH Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) initiative.

Do you want to help preserve this important history?