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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Chestnut Creek Heritage Chapel has a more secure future thanks to recent replacement of support beams under the front of the building.

The chapel board received a $5,000 Cawaco Resource, Conservation & Development Council reimbursement grant toward the project last year.

This is the fourth grant that Chestnut Creek Heritage Chapel has received from Cawaco.

“They have been very helpful to us,” Ola Taylor of Chestnut Creek Heritage Chapel said.

After the Heritage Chapel had been chosen to receive the grant, the work was completed and paperwork submitted to receive the funds.

Taylor said the organization had known because of the age of the building that there would be foundation issues eventually.

“We knew from people having gone under there and checking it for us that there were these huge beams that were on piers that were just stacked rock, and at one time there was some mortar in between them,” Taylor said. “… The new problem that we discovered was discovered rather accidentally. We had an electrician under there to run some wire for new (external) outlets… he discovered that the first beam under the front of the building had damage about a third of the way through.”

If the beam was not replaced, the front of the building was in danger of collapsing.

The entire value of the project was $9,000.

Donations from 2018 fundraisers were used to pay for the project upfront. A donation of six steel H beams was also received thanks to the effort of a community member coordinating with Ellis steel company.

The rock piles were replaced with metal jacks.

Taylor said future projects for the chapel will be replacing the rock piers under the rest of the building with metal jacks and securing the steeple.

Chestnut Creek Heritage Chapel was established by a group of people interested in preserving the historic building which was formerly used by Chestnut Creek Baptist Church. The group raises funds for ongoing preservation and holds community events throughout the year. For more information, visit the Chestnut Creek Heritage Chapel Facebook page or contact Taylor at 205-217-9466.