{"nrhp_refnum":"04000887","name":"St. James Colored Methodist Episcopal Church","other_names":["St. James C.M.E. Church","St. James Christian Methodist Episcopal Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"408 N. Border Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tyler","county":"Smith County","state":"TX","lat":32.355916695000076,"lon":-95.30678515799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-08-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Education","Black"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick veneer Classical Revival church at 408 North Border Avenue in Tyler, Smith County, Texas, built between 1889 and 1891 and remodeled ca. 1920, with a 1950 parsonage also counted as a contributing building.","why_significant":"The church is significant for its ties to Tyler's African American community, for reflecting segregated community development patterns, and for its role in founding and supporting Texas College, established in 1894. It is described as the oldest surviving African American church building in Tyler and the only one from before 1940.","narrative":"St. James Colored Methodist Episcopal Church is a two-story brick veneer building on North Border Avenue in Tyler, about half a mile west of the courthouse square. Built between 1889 and 1891 as a wood frame Gothic Revival church, probably by its own congregation, it was remodeled around 1920 into its present symmetrical Classical Revival form, with matching corner towers and a partial-width porch between them. A fellowship hall was added in 1950 to designs by Jonas Levias Jewett, and a 1950 brick parsonage stands beside it. Worship moved to a new sanctuary in 1982, and the older building now serves as a fellowship hall and Sunday School. The church is recognized for its link to Tyler's African American community, for reflecting segregated development patterns in the city, and for supporting Texas College, founded in 1894. It is the oldest surviving African American church building in Tyler and the only one remaining from before 1940. Its period of significance runs from about 1920 to 1954.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1920-1954","architect_builder":"Architect: Jonas Levias Jewett (1950 addition); builders unknown","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals: Classical Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"No longer used for worship; the church is used as a fellowship hall and Sunday School in fair condition, and the 1950 parsonage is vacant.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.290395-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/9699/40969945/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/04000887.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000887/3822eacd67-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000887/3822eacd67-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StJamesChurch1.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StJamesChurch1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969945","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Colored_Methodist_Episcopal_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7588459"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/smith-county/st-james-colored-methodist-episcopal-church-04000887/"}