The church held its reopening service June 27, almost 119 years to the day after the building was dedicated June 29, 1907. The service drew church members, descendants of early members, volunteers and community leaders from across Platte County, including Angela Hagenbach, founder of the Black Ancestors Awareness Campaign of Weston.

“This proclamation is more than an acknowledgment of our past; it is an affirmation of the work that continues today and an inspiration for the ministry yet to come,” the Rev. Nicky Wright said in a written response to the city.

Wright, who was attending the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church’s annual conference and could not attend the council meeting, said Washington Chapel has long served as a place of faith, service and community connection.

The congregation’s history predates the building. Black residents began gathering for worship before the Civil War, when some members of the community were enslaved. The congregation formally joined the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, now known as the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1870.

The current chapel was constructed between 1905 and 1907 using native limestone. It later became a spiritual and social center for Parkville’s Black community. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 and placed on Missouri Preservation’s Places in Peril list in 2023 because of its deteriorating condition.

The chapel also carries connections to Weston.

Its construction was supervised by Charles Patrick Breen, a stonemason born in Weston in 1857. According to the church’s National Register of Historic Places nomination, Breen learned stonemasonry from his father and later became superintendent of construction at what was then Park College.

Breen supervised college students and members of the congregation as they built Washington Chapel. He also worked on Weston’s waterworks and Holy Trinity Catholic Church, according to the nomination.

Hagenbach’s presence at the reopening provided a present-day connection between historic preservation efforts in Parkville and Weston. Her Black Ancestors Awareness Campaign works to uncover and preserve the stories of Weston’s Black residents and families.

Angela Hagenbach, founder of the Black Ancestors Awareness Campaign of Weston, said the chapel was named for William “Willie” Washington, a formerly enslaved Weston resident, and Angeline Rucker Washington. Their marriage, she said, connected the Black communities of Weston and Parkville.

“The restoration of Washington Chapel is a pivotal landmark for Parkville and the broader narrative of Platte County’s Black history,” Hagenbach said. 

The effort to save Washington Chapel gained momentum in 2024 when the congregation received a $160,000 grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Preserving Black Churches grant program is supported by Lilly Endowment Inc.

The grant helped fund a new roof, heating and cooling systems, three ADA-accessible restrooms and other interior improvements. Additional donations and volunteer labor helped renovate the kitchen, install an interior staircase and chairlift, repair stonework and refurbish parts of the sanctuary.

Much of the labor came from a group known as the “Thursday Crew.” Eight to 12 volunteers reportedly worked at the church each week for more than two years. Friends of Sacred Structures, a Kansas City nonprofit that assists historic religious buildings, helped connect the congregation with retired electricians, plumbers and other skilled volunteers.

Additional volunteers painted the interior, repaired windows, landscaped the grounds, built book holders for the pews and completed other projects. Four Eagle Scout projects also contributed improvements to the church grounds.

Although the building has reopened, supporters say additional money is needed to replace the exterior stairs and rebuild the original retaining wall.

Washington Chapel now offers Sunday worship services at 1:30 p.m. and is available for meetings, classes, family reunions, weddings and other community gatherings.

“May we continue to work together to build a community where faith, service and love flourish for generations to come,” Wright said.