HISTORY OF HALES CHAPEL CHRISTIAN CHURCH

     The Christian churches in Tennessee came about from the influence and work of Barton W. Stone.  Stone and his co-workers

espoused the need for the restoration of the New Testament Church.  This Restoration Movement resulted in the establishment

of several Christian Churches being organized in East Tennessee in the early 1800's.

     A group of these restoration believers started meeting in the Buffalo Ridge Meeting House next to the Buffalo Ridge

Cemetery.  The Baptists decided not to let anyone other than Baptists use their meetinghouse, so this group of believers met at

the store belonging to John Leab.

     A revival meeting was held at the store that added to the believers who were gathering there.  This meeting took place

sometime in early 1886.  On April 5, 1886, a group of men signed a note for the purpose of building a house of worship to be

known as the Christian Church at Buffalo Ridge.

     On May 5, 1887, a deed was executed by William Chamberlain Hale giving one acre of land to the trustees of the Christian

Church at Buffalo Ridge.  Those trustees were Charles Fox, Jacob Bacon, and Samuel Gray.  Mr. Hale had a mill where the

lumber for the church was cut from timber donated by other members of the congregation.  Mr. Hale was also a carpenter and

with the help of other members he built the church.  The church was named after William Chamberlain Hale who died in 1892.

     The early building was a single room sanctuary.  The roof was of wood shingles and the floor was oak tongue and groove

planks about four inches wide.  There were tall, double-sashed with four panes of glass in each one.  Two cast iron stoves

provided heat.  Kerosene lamps at each window provided lighting for the church.  A pump organ accompanied the hymns.

     From these humble beginnings, Hales Chapel Christian Church has grown throughout the years both in size of facility

and in numbers.

     In July of 1912, the board realized a need for more property for the church.  A committee was formed and another acre of

land was obtained from Mrs. Minnie Gresham on March 21, 1913.

     During the years of the late 1930's, very few records were written down.  One record that exists is a deed for another half acre

of property for the church from Clyde Fitch.

     In 1946, the church sold property that was given them by a prominent family in Gray.  Each church in Gray had been given

property, but Hales Chapel decided not to move as other area congregations did.  It was decided that this money would be put

into a Building Fund to remodel the church.  Work was completed and the renovated church with additional Sunday school

rooms was dedicated on July 29, 1951.

     In May 1953, a water line was put into the building.  Restrooms were installed in May 1954.  A parsonage was completed and

the first minister moved into it in September 1957.

     In 1964, an addition was made to the parsonage that included two bedrooms, a bathroom, and closet space.  The parking lot,

driveway, and road behind the parsonage were paved in 1967.  A new organ was purchased in 1968.

     Early Sunday school records show an attendance of sixty-five (65) on September 4, 1921.  Attendance on April 30, 1922 is

listed as ninety-two (92).  During most of the year of 1922, the average attendance for Sunday school was thirty to thirty-five.

High attendances recorded in other years include ninety-three (93) on June 29, 1930 and one hundred thirty (130) on

July 28, 1935.

     Some attendance records of this period include Easter Sunday, April 18, 1954, when 125 were present.  On May 14, 1961, the

attendance was 199.  The average attendance for 1962 was 134.

     With the attendance steadily growing, a building fund was started in 1968.  Several building committees were formed through

the period from 1967 to 1976, but it was not until 1978 that work finally began on a larger facility.  A groundbreaking ceremony

was held on September 3, 1978.  This new facility (still in use today) would seat four hundred and included a full basement

containing eleven classrooms and nurseries.  The first service was held in the new sanctuary on July 6, 1980.  The dedication

service was held August 31, 1980 and all attendance records were broken on that day with 311 in the worship service.

     Hales Chapel continued to grow throughout the years until this new larger building was still not large enough.  With no

room to expand at the present location, it was decided to purchase property to build an even larger facility in the community. 

Some members wanted to remain at the present location, so in February 2001, a Leadership Team was formed to find a new

minister to continue services at Hales Chapel.

     On November 4, 2001, Hales Chapel met for the last time as the full congregation.  The next Sunday, November 11, 2001,

services were held at Hales Chapel and at her sister church, Crossroads Christian Church.  Today, Hales Chapel continues with

a membership of around 120.  Hales Chapel will celebrate its 120th anniversary on November 11, 2007.