St. James AME Church

The congregation of St. James AME Church first worshipped under a brush arbor in the vicinity of what is now Ariel Crossroads. Mattie Munnerlyn White sold one-half acre of land, including the original church, to church trustees in 1891. The cornerstone of the current church was laid in 1914. In 1919 Zack R. Leonard sold land to the church for what is now St. James Cemetery, located 3/4 of a mile north. St. James School, a Rosenwald School, built in 1925, once stood nearby. It remained the principal school for local black students until 1954.

KEYWORDS: ARIEL CROSSROADS, MARION COUNTY, BRUSH ARBOR, ROSENWALD SCHOOL