Yeakley Chapel celebrates complex history
At the grave of Thomas Yeakley, presenter John Schmalzbauer discusses Yeakley’s lineage to the area. A prosperous landowner of some 1,200 acres, Yeakley, who died in 1914, was also a secret agent for the federal government during the Civil War.
Yeakley Chapel in its current form. The structure was rebuilt in 1887, after an earlier fire, and was later moved to its current spot on the property in the 1900’s. The gathering Sunday to celebrate the church coincided with the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival which ran the weekend in Springfield. (Photos by Ryan Squibb)
Possibly oldest church on Route 66 in Greene County
Established in 1887, Yeakley Chapel, some eight miles west of Springfield on Highway 266, Old Route 66, comes with a rich history. The tale of the church and its community founders were the topic of discussion Sunday as a presentation of its past was given by Missouri State University Religious Studies Professor John Schmalzbauer.
In short, the Yeakley family, and several other local families, such as the Johnsons, McNeeses, Cotters and Squibbs, to name some, moved from Greene County, Tenn. to Greene County, Mo. around the 1840s.
"They all came not just from the same county but from the same place in Tennessee," Schmalzbauer said. "Johns Chapel has an interesting history as well, and people at Johns Chapel and Clear Creek have relatives that are here and they were all frontier Methodists."
The Tennessee community the group of transplants called home gave birth to the first abolitionist newspaper in the nation—The Emanicipator, which fought against slavery through the written word. The Yeakleys, once in Greene County, were also known to house escaped slaves.
Schmalzbauer and his wife Susan, who is pastor at Yeakley and also spoke of the church through the years, were excited to pull the curtain back on the sleepy Methodist church, which still holds weekly services today to an active congregation.
"I think (we're) lifting up the story of this place that has been here so long and is easily maybe overlooked except that it's a beautiful place. If you think about rural congregations today, some are thriving but it's a challenge, so you think about, what are your assets and one of your assets is the history," Schmalzbauer said.
He added that it's of no small importance that it's on Route 66.
"And it's on the mother road, and 200 Norwegians driving Corvettes might come by they might not stop but people care about that because there are lots of good stories of America, good stories, hard stories, of the Dust Bowl migration that took place on Route 66… I think it is the oldest church on the Mother Road in Greene County."
Schmalzbauer also celebrated the network of the area over time.
"I think one of the wonderful things about communities is that over a century, there's a web of connections."
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