2266 Scott Street
St. Peter’s Hall, Garfield Hall, Faith Temple Baptist Church, Outreach of Faith Ministries A.O.H. Church of God, Free Indeed Ministries Church International
My favorite structures to document are small, non-descript ones like this. Though this one has a storied history, I wasn’t anticipating that when I photographed it last week. I haven’t been able to determine the exact origins of the building; however, I’m excited to share what I have learned about it.
The third volume of the 1897 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps shows a structure on this plot. I can’t be sure it’s the same one that stands there today; however, I think it is.
The structure on that map was labeled ‘St. Peter’s Hall.’ Located around the corner from the church building at the corner of Chene and Pierce, this was likely a hall for events and celebrations. St. Petri Kirche was a German congregation that was established in the 1870s. Shortly after building their church (complete in 1878 with a 90-foot spire), they built a school next door, which would be upgraded to a more modern brick building in 1912.
In 1897, the neighborhood surrounding the church was densely populated with homes. I’m not certain why St. Peter’s Hall was on the next block over from the church; however, it was still a short walk away. The neighborhood likely expanded quickly, and the church had slim pickings when looking for a vacant lot to build a hall for the congregation.
Before diving further into the hall’s history, it’s worth mentioning that the 1870s church and 1912 school stood until 2013 when they were demolished. St. Peter Lutheran Church merged with St. Thomas at the corner of Fisher and Chapin, moving the joint venture into the latter’s structure. In 1946, the structure at Chene and Pierce became St. Titus Lutheran, but I believe that congregation moved or folded by the mid-to-late 1950s. After that, the church building was sold to the Universal Hagar Spiritual Church Association. I believe the church was associated with this property until around 2010; however, it appears to have been abandoned long before. If you want to see photos of that church, I recommend Nailhed’s article, ‘Black & White.’
I’m unsure when the structure pictured here ceased to be St. Peter’s Hall; however, by 1912, it was for sale. By this point, a new structure had been built on the same parcel, or the old one had been upgraded to meet the needs of a modern community hall. Given the small stature of the place and how similar the Sanborn entries are over the years, I think it’s the same structure. The sale ad in August 1912 didn’t include much information but told interested parties to inquire at 621 Chene Street (3465 Chene today). This was a veneered structure behind St. Peter’s Church that was the address listed when the son of Reverend Edward Knorr, pastor at St. Peter’s, died in 1923, and that would later be called the Lutheran Children’s Home. Likely, this was a sale ad from the church trying to sell their hall.
Though not affiliated with the church, the hall still served Germans in the area and was renamed Garfield Hall. In 1914, an advert in the Detroiter Abend-Post, a German-language newspaper, listed the hall for rent, calling it clean. These ads continued through 1915.
In November 1915, an advert in the Detroiter Abend-Post described a Sheepshead Tournament with good prizes for the winners. Though in German, my translation of the advert says there was entertainment and refreshments, and spectators were allowed to join the fun.
In 1916, Judge William F. Connolly, born in 1876, spoke here while campaigning to become Mayor of Detroit. Connolly was a Recorders’ Judge who ran on the Democratic ticket. He lost the race, and Oscar Marx became mayor.
In 1917, another advert in the Detroiter Abend-Post shows that the neighborhood’s German cohort was still strong. My translation says that the ’First Transylvanian Saxony’ put on a ‘Great Johannes Ball,’ which cost a quarter to get in.
Garfield Hall wasn’t exclusive to German-speaking organizations, which was especially true as time passed. In July 1917, Artic Athletic Club held a special meeting at the hall looking for new players and someone new to run the team. According to the Detroit Free Press advert, they needed infielders, outfielders, and a pitcher. It sounds like they essentially needed an entire team, and they were set to sort it out at Garfield Hall on Scott Street.
In 1921, the SCBA, a religious organization, held a card party and dance at the hall. That same year brought the first mention of the Edward A. Hoffman Post No. 116 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars meeting at the hall, too, which would be frequent there in the coming years. In 1921, they held a Thanksgiving party there. In 1922, they installed their new officers, including a public dance and luncheon afterward at the hall. That same year, they held a Valentine’s Dancing Party and a membership drive, hoping to have over 500 members by the start of 1923.
By 1922, the Improved Order of Red Men had also begun meeting at Garfield Hall. This fraternal organization, which still exists today, claims lineage to the Sons of Liberty and has rituals modeled after what white men at the time it was founded (1834) thought Indigenous Peoples would do during their rituals. The group, only open to white men, had sports teams, too. In 1922, the Redmen had a game against the Nativity Welfare Association Team at Pingree Park. I believe that this was soccer, but I can’t be sure. The team was to meet at Garfield Hall three hours before kickoff.
The Improved Order of Red Men chapter that met here was the Hiawatha Tribe No. 52. As mentioned, this organization still exists today. In 1974, they eliminated the clause that you had to be white to join. Warren G. Harding, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt were said to have been members. The female auxiliary of the group is the Degree of Pocahontas.
The 1921 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a very similar structure to that in the 1897 version; however, there appear to have been some modifications. Still, I feel that it may be the same structure. By 1921, the building had gotten electricity.
After that, the address and hall didn’t have much of a footprint in the media for a few decades. The 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map lists the structure as Garfield Hall, so it may have still been used as a community building.
In 1968, Faith Temple Baptist Church was organized at the state level and utilized 2266 Scott Street, pictured here. To this point, the neighborhood had been settled by Germans, become a hodgepodge of whiteness, and transitioned into a primarily black community. However, the area directly up Chene was still semi-mixed in the 1960s.
Faith Temple Baptist Church remained at this location until at least 1978; however, things seemed to derail slightly in November 1977 when Reverend Charles W. Eubanks died at 70. The church still exists today at 10700 East Warren Avenue.
By 2002, the former church hall had become the home of Outreach of Faith Ministries A.O.H. Church of God, which remained there until at least 2005 but was gone by 2009.
Today, the structure is occupied by Free Indeed Ministries Church International under Bishop Gladys Y. Lester. I believe they moved into the structure around 2007 or 2008. It’s well maintained and looked after, complete with a front door camera that beeped at me profusely while I was photographing it.
Though this structure and its history are breathtaking, it is hard for me not to weep over the loss of the structures around it. Today, there isn’t a single building on the entire block that the church is on, on the Scott or Pierce sides. In fact, there isn’t a structure between Scott and Watson between Dubois and Chene. At one time, this was home to dozens of homes, a handful of churches, scattered businesses, and hundreds of people.
Though the melancholy brought on by what we’ve lost is intense, I’m sincerely joyous that this structure is still standing and adequately looked after.
