Sycamore Chapel
Sycamore Chapel during the Little Colonel years.
from Fox Film Corporation Scrapbook by the Little Colonel Productions, Inc., probably by Kate Matthews
Pewee Valley’s African American settlement has historically been off Rollington Road on Fraziertown Road. To get to Fraziertown, take Central down to Rollington. At the first stop sign, there is a bend in the road. Rollington is to the left, Old Mill is straight ahead and Fraziertown Road is to the right:
the view down Fraziertown Road from Rollington — it’s a winding lane Information about Fraziertown from Historic Pewee Valley, page 10:
“Also present on the 1879 map, just outside the West corner of town, is a collection of about 10 houses and a chapel which we know to be the beginnings of Fraziertown, a small black community that developed at this location after the War Between the States. Very little is known of the history of Fraziertown, but it can be assumed that some of the freed slaves from the area gathered here and built houses. The settlement is no doubt named for a “B. Frazier” whose name appears on the map. Sycamore Chapel Methodist Church was built in Fraziertown in 1897 on land donated by a Mrs. Brenner of Louisville. This historic wood-framed church still stands, with remodeling over time. Most of the other Fraziertown structures on the 1879 map are gone.”
Sycamore United Methodist Church, Fraziertown, (winter 2007)
Close-up of the church doors.
Unfortunately, the Symamore Chapel portion of the stained glass
window above the door has been partially obscured by remodeling.
From History & Families Oldham County, Kentucky: The First Century 1824-1924:
Sycamore Chapel Methodist Church (in Frazier Town)
The Pewee Valley First Baptist Church, built as a community church, served as the first meeting place of members of the Sycamore Chapel Methodist Church. In the early 1870s, members began to consider the possibility of constructing their own church building. Land was difficult to acquire. However, Mrs. Brenner of Louisville gave land for the new church. Sycamore Chapel was organized and built in 1873, and Reverend W. H. Evans served as first pastor. Officers included James Hinkle, Pollie Hinkle, Selby Lindsey and Rose Lindsey.
There is a listing of pastors, without dates, in the book.