Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church, Knoxville facts for kids
The Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church is a very old and important church in Knoxville, Tennessee. You can find it today at 3800 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. This church is famous because it was reportedly a safe place, or "station," on the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a secret network that helped enslaved people find freedom.
The church is part of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church group. This group started way back in 1796. It's often called the "freedom church" because it played a big role in the movement to end slavery in the United States.
A Church's Long History
The church community first began in 1845 on Fuller Street. A kind German person donated the land for it. At first, it was known simply as Warner Tabernacle. The very first church building wasn't built until the late 1800s.
Changes and New Beginnings
Sadly, a big storm destroyed the first building in 1908. But the community didn't give up! A second church building was finished just two years later, in 1910.
Over the years, the church moved and changed its name a few times.
- In 1967, the church moved to Speedway Circle. Its name changed to Speedway Circle AME Zion Church.
- Then, in 1969, the name changed again to Greater Warner Tabernacle.
- In 1987, the church bought the McCalla Avenue Baptist Church building and moved there. Today, that part of McCalla Avenue is known as Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
The Greater Warner Tabernacle is the oldest existing African-American church community in Knoxville. It has a rich history of helping people and standing up for freedom.
External links
- Knox MPC Historic List
- Tennessee Vacation: Greater Warner listing
- List of Underground Railroad sites
