The Mormon Chapel that never was

In Duff, Tennessee, less than a mile from the site of the historic marker for the actual Mormon chapel, there is a beautiful chapel built with the donation of Mormon money that was never used by Mormons.

George Washington Riggs and other early members of the Church in Duff, Tennessee, joined with other community leaders to build a church which would be shared by all of the denominations. Brother Riggs personally donated $5,000, which was no mean sum in that day. And he was not the only Mormon benefactor.

We did not get to go inside the day we visited. But most of the interior is "sanctuary" itself, two stories high, with small classrooms built in each of the four corners. There are two classrooms in each corner, one above the other, making in total eight small rooms plus the sanctuary. The basement is used now only for mechanical space.

  

I love the detail of the brick used. Special attention was used to make the brick colorful. Closer inspection showed the color is not paint. The pigment is clearly part of the brick, though whether it was baked in or added as a stain afterwards is beyond my expertise to determine. The color does not bleed into the surrounding mortar, which leads me to believe it was not applied after construction.

But ultimately the project ran out of money. A corporate benefactor eventually stepped in and completed the chapel. A board of directors was established and they started to work out a schedule for sharing the building. But in the process, the Mormons were left out. Efforts to resolve to issue were fruitless. And in a moment of frustration feet were dusted and a curse placed on chapel.

From then on, nearly every attempt to use the chapel by the other denominations ended in bitter arguments and acrimony. The spirit of contention took over the place. Fights that broke out at the meetinghouse became infamous and are remembered even today. The Mormons have never used the meetinghouse for services. Eventually the building was sold and it is now used by a single denomination.

The missionary who dusted his feet made annual trips back to Duff for many years after that. Recently he took pity on the denomination currently using the church. He made a special trip to lift the curse.

Duff Chapel Marker

In early June, I took a business trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. While I was there I met with Jim, whom I had met at the Mormon History Association conference. Through Jim, I met his wife and his mother-in-law. The four of us took a trip into the mountains north of Knoxville to where a small community of Mormons lived since the 19th century. Eventually they built a chapel. There we located the marker you see below. It reads:

A Sunday School was organized in 1943 by Elder George Quist, A full time missionary. During 1948 a building was erected at this site on land donated by Charlie Wright. Money was raised by the Riggs and Wright families. Members, friends and full time missionaries. The small building served members until 1956.

Like many early pockets of the LDS church in the southern states, this branch began with the conversion of a family in an isolated rural community.

In 1948, land was provided for a small chapel. Service missionaries were called, money was raised and labor donated for the completion of the one room chapel. By the time I visited, however, only parts of the foundation are left barely visible under the grass. Based on what I saw and heard from those who were there, the chapel was probably about 20 feet wide and 30 feet long. At one end, the floor was built up a little higher to serve as a stand. A single wood stove provided heat for the entire building. Sacrament services were held in the chapel and Sunday School classes would split up, some using rooms in the home next door.

The home and the land belonged to Mary Wright, but since there was another Mary in the congregation, everyone called her Aunt Mead. The house no longer stands, but behind where the house was is an old water pump which is still there. No, it doesn’t work. We tried.

The marker was placed about 10 years ago. My hosts, descendents of the Riggs and Wright families, are pretty sure the structure was still being used in 1958, not 1956 as the marker says. Regardless, the marker is an important reminder of the sacrifices and dedication of the members of the Church in Duff, Tennessee. From these early pioneers, a faithful body of saints has grown into the strong membership of the church it is today.

[Thank you to Jim and his family for pointing out this wonderful piece of history. -Bruce]