Craigs Chapel AME Zion Church - Greenback, TN - Underground Railroad Sites on Waymarking.com

"The Craigs Chapel AME Zion Church property is part of a larger historical landscape that has long held cultural significance for African Americans. An active area for Quaker abolitionism, with settlements in Friendsville and Unitia, this area was the location for much anti-slavery activity. As example, William H. lived in Greenback, Loudon County in the mid-nineteenth century. He and his family have been documented as active members of the Quaker community and promoters of social welfare, abolition, and education. The geographical terrain and location of Loudon and the adjacent Blount County supports the oral tradition of active attempts to assist fugitive slaves and other conscientious objectors. The presence of rivers and caves, in addition to the ridges and valleys of East Tennessee indicate identifying features common in Underground Railroad accounts.

The Quaker activity coupled with suggestive geographical features reinforce the local oral history, which maintains that a cave located near, but not on the property of, the Craigs Chapel AME Zion Church, was linked to the Underground Railroad. This cave is located near Tellico Lake, formerly the Little Tennessee River. Records indicate that the route for fugitive slaves passing through Loudon and Blount counties brought slaves from the Deep South states of Alabama and Georgia through the Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky. The Greenback community maintains the oral tradition of the Underground Railroad in the Craigs Chapel district. The Craigs Chapel community considers the Underground Railroad tradition an integral piece of its history.

The strong cultural ties that post-War African Americans felt with the land surrounding the cave made it a natural location for the establishment of Craigs Chapel AME Zion Church, cemetery, and school. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was known as the "The Freedom Church", claiming such abolitionist leaders as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglass. 8 Minutes taken from the AME Zion Quadrennial session in 1880 demonstrate this commitment to freedom.

"The distinguishing characteristic of our church is freedom.. .her very pronounced position on slavery kept her out of the south until the power of that system was broken; but she was among the first to send missionaries to our long oppressed people when the way was open as she had been among the foremost advocates of emancipation in the dark days of slavery and also foremost in sheltering and feeding the panting fugitive on his way to freedom.""
Reference: (visit link)
Additional reference: (visit link)

Address: Craigs Chapel Rd Greenback, TN USA Open to the public?: Private Web site: Not listed Site Details: Not listed Name of organization who placed the marker: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Provide an original photo of the building and/or marker, and describe your visit.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.