2005 Mooresville Festival

Historic Properties

Brick Church Profile-Current Restoration Project

Photos, some of which were taken in the 1940s by Frank T. Richardson.
Used by permission of his family.

Governor Thomas Bibb and his wife Pamela donated the property and most of the labor for the construction of this church. The church was donated to the community as a non-denominational church in 1839. The church's history includes many notable preachers and events including Rev. Robert Donnell and Constantine Sanders, subject of X+Y=Z The Sleeping Preacher book. Reverend Sanders, a Presbyterian minister, suffered a seizure as a teenager and was noticed to have a visible cleft from the seizure. After that seizure he had clairvoyant powers.

Several denominations used the Brick Church including the Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists. The church last had a congregation in the 1950’s. A detailed and meticulous title search began in 1991 and was completed in 1994. Determining who properly owned the church was a difficult task because the separation of church and state required the deacons or elders to place the deed to the property in their names. The United Methodist Church, the last denomination to own the building – since 1898, conducted a deconsecration service and passed ownership to the town October 26, 1994.

In 1995 a Disney movie, Tom and Huck, was filmed in Mooresville and the Brick Church served as the Court House. The movie crews painted it and did some minor repairs. Later, Councilman Vene Sneed found an organ preservationist, Mr. C.E. Kimbrell, who donated his time to restore the 1905 organ.

In 1999, The Alabama Historical Commission gave us a grant to secure the exterior of the church. We used the proceeds from the Cookbook and 2001 Festival to complete the steeple. Native Mooresville resident, Frank T. Richardson, and fellow craftsman Dyrc Sybrans duplicated the “Heavenward Hand. The hand was probably put up on the steeple after a devastating storm in 1888. The church suffered a lot of damage but was repaired. You can see where the bricks are not like the original bricks near the balcony or slave entrance. The “Heavenward Hand” has an interesting story. Around 80 years ago, Mr. Richardson (born in 1912) was a small child. He constantly asked his mother what the Hand on top of the church meant. She would tell him, “It shows us the way to heaven.” Over the years the cypress hand began to deteriorate and the hand no longer sat straight up but instead listed at a 45-degree angle. After a storm the hand fell down when Mr. Richardson was around 6 years old. He came home terribly upset, “Momma, momma how are we going to find our way to heaven.…the hand fell down.” Again Mrs. Vene Sneed came to the rescue and found the old drawings of the hand and took them to Mr. Richardson. Mr. Richardson and Dr. Sybrans have completed the task and one month after Mr. Richardson’s death, “Heavenward Hand” is prominently displayed on the steeple, to again show us “the way to heaven.” An interesting side note, Dr. Sybrans is a master woodworker recognized by the White House and provided a wooden ornament for the White House Christmas Tree in 2002. Dr. Sybrans met and ate lunch with the First Lady and was able to show his work off to both President and Mrs. Bush.

The primary sources of funds for restoration are the Mooresville Festival festival@mooresvillealabama.com, Private Tours tours@mooresvillealabama.com, and the Rental of the Brick church brickchurch@mooresvillealabama.com. The Festival is held in May every odd-numbered year. The Festival features tours of public buildings and private homes and gardens, music, and demonstrations of 19th century crafts. The next Festival is slated for Saturday, May 14, 2005.