Watertown AME church receives historic designation, efforts to save it continue

Getting the recognition means the Preservation League will work closely with the group — known as the Friends of Thomas Memorial Coalition — to raise awareness, assist with advocacy and provide extensive technical services to save the church from demolition.

Saying that the group “is ecstatic” about the designation, Shameika Ingram, who’s spearheading the preservation efforts, said the Friends look forward to working with the Preservation League.

“The church is an important attribute to the city of Watertown, as well as to the entire north country,” she said. “It serves as a focal point for documenting the history of the local African-American community.”

She has joined a small group of interested people from across the state working to preserve it.

The fate of the historic landmark has been uncertain for years. The church, 715 Morrison St., has sat mostly ignored after its last members died, with the building in need of repairs.

The Preservation League’s designation comes at a time when $2,768.72 in back taxes were paid by the AME Church in Syracuse on April 3.

If the taxes were not paid, Neighbors of Watertown Executive Director Reginald J. Schweitzer Jr. was all set to take over ownership of the property next month.

Two years ago, Mr. Schweitzer purchased the building’s tax sale certificate for $854.28 during a public auction held by the city Comptroller’s Office.

A member of the group of preservationists, Mr. Schweitzer hoped he could then help save the church.

The two-year tax sale certificate process for him to become owner of the building was about to occur in June.

But then someone with the AME Church in Syracuse showed up at the city Comptroller’s office in April with the check to pay the back taxes and penalties after the city sent out notices to church officials about the situation.

Mr. Schweitzer knew that it was a possibility, but he didn’t expect it to happen, he said Tuesday.

Despite that development, the Friends think the designation is a significant step in saving the church.

“It’s going to bring attention to the church,” Mr. Schweitzer said. “It gives credibility to apply for grants.”

Ms. Ingram said the group also has been in contact with officials from another AME church to save the church.

“We are working to build a sustainable relationship with the AME Zion officials,” she said.

Three years ago, an outdoor inspection of the building by the city’s Code Enforcement Office determined that the steeple and chimney are deteriorated and apparently have become detached from the building.

For decades, William E. “Buster” Crabbe, the building undertaker and a church trustee, took care of the building until he died in 2017 at the age of 81.

Ms. Ingram, who worked at Fort Drum as a civilian from 2012 to 2015, met Mr. Crabbe and became interested in the church’s history.

By then, church services had already ended. She’s spearheading the group’s efforts from Germany, where she lives.

However, City Assessor Brian S. Phelps said the Friends of the church will still have to sort out what entity owns the property. The title was in Mr. Crabbe’s name before he died.

While the building was erected in 1909, Watertown’s AME Zion Church traces its roots back to the Underground Railroad in the 1800s.

At least one church associate was a freed slave. Professor Henry Barr escaped a Kentucky plantation before the Civil War, made it to Montreal and then moved to Watertown, where he became a member of the church when it was holding services at the meetinghouse at 446 River St. He died on Feb. 19, 1902, somewhere between the ages of 70 and 80.