After 120 years, the Cadiz Baptist Church has begun the process of taking down the chapel and education building piece by piece.
Church officials have closed off the building in recent years with the power and electricity cut a few months ago. Church officials said about eight years ago, a committee was formed to decide the chapel’s future after it fell into disrepair. A wooden brace had been placed against a wall in the chapel to help keep the building intact.
Although not unanimous, the church decided the building needed to be shuttered instead of absorbing the $3 million plus price to correct, restore, and make it structurally sound both inside and out.
Doc’s Archeological Salvage of Springfield, Tennessee has been enlisted by the church to remove the stained-glass windows and fixtures from the chapel. They began their work Thursday. They intend to resell the items although the church could retain some of the windows for any future building placed on the site.
A church official said they have not received bids for the demolition of the chapel and education building although two contractors have been on site to assess the project and have provided no timeline. Cadiz Baptist Church Christian Academy is located in the office building between the new and old sanctuary. Classes there begin on August 10. Church officials are hoping to see demolition done when the academy classes aren’t in session.
In June, the church announced a celebration service to remember the chapel, which was built in 1903 by James Bowling of Nashville at a cost of $9,785. That translates to $333,000 in today’s money.
Two additions were made to the chapel in the 1950s for Sunday school rooms and a fellowship hall at a cost of $74,000.
In 1984, the education building was renovated to add carpeting and new windows. It housed Sunday school rooms, church offices, and a library.
A new sanctuary was built just up the hill from the chapel in 1976. Since then, the chapel has hosted weddings, and youth group meetings, and in the summer of 2006, hosted a historical Sunday night service series with the Cadiz Christian Church, Cadiz Church of Christ, and the Cadiz United Methodist Church.
The Cadiz Christian Church was built in 1893 and is still in service, making it one of the oldest buildings still in use in the downtown district. Other multiple-story buildings that line Main Street were built between 1902 and 1906.
Church officials said they will look at the property once demolition is complete and present options to the church about what comes next on the site.
(photos by Ed Marlowe)
