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Collection ID

STN.000119

Type

Stone

Date

1914

Geography

United States

Language

N/A

Medium

Stone/Concrete

Dimensions

3.6 × 5.3 × 3.4 in. (9.2 × 13.5 × 8.7 cm)

Exhibit Location

On View in The Impact of the Bible, Bible in America

This stone fragment was part of the original foundation of Historic Vernon AME Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was laid in 1914. Although much of the church was destroyed during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, the basement and foundation survived. Members almost immediately began rebuilding on the surviving structure, despite receiving no insurance payments or government assistance. Recent renovations unearthed this fragment, which the church donated to the museum. Today, the church is the only standing black-owned structure from the historic Black Wall Street era.

Laid in 1914 in Vernon Chapel’s (later Vernon AME Church) foundation, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Unearthed in 2020, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Donated in 2021 to Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.[1]

Notes: [1] Donated by Rev. Dr. Robert Turner of Vernon AME Church.

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