If These Beams Could Talk
The Mountaineer, October 20, 2007
by Peggy Manning, Guide Editor
LAKE LOGAN Before a blight ravaged the American chestnut in the early- to mid-1900s, a Universalist preacher built a small chapel from chestnut boards.
Family members and other volunteers are in the process of restoring the 105-year-old chapel to its original beauty.
The first step involved uncovering the beautiful chestnut boards, which had been covered years ago by cheap paneling.
Workers found that the chapel has endured the effects of time.
Chestnut is naturally rot resistant, said Zachary Guy, president of Appalachian Antique Hardwoods, who is assisting in the removal of the paneling and rebuilding the ceiling of the chapel.
The Rev. James Anderson Inman, who built the chapel in 1902, likely chose chestnut because it was so plentiful in Western North Carolina at that time.
Western North Carolina had the third highest concentration of chestnut trees in the nation,Guy said. Chestnut was a popular wood to work with because of its straight grain and the ease of working with it.
Guy said he wanted to be part of the renovation because of the historic value of the church.
Inman did a very good job building the chapel,Guy said, walking down to the basement of the chapel to point to a 38-foot chestnut beam that serves as the main support for the chapel.
This was all hand-hewn, Guy said, pointing to the roughly chiseled marks on the wooden beam.
Guy estimates that the interior walls, however, were not part of the original structure because of the type of nails that were used.
In my opinion, the nails had to be put in during the 1920s. Most of the nails prior to that were hand-poured by blacksmiths,he said.
The only major damage to the chapel was termite destruction of pine boards around the door and a few oak sill beams around the foundation at the front of the church.
All the floor joists and sub-flooring of the chapel are chestnut, Guy said. Many of the boards are blemish-free pre-blight, but some are wormy chestnut, he said.
Volunteers have put three coats of paint on the exterior boards, with only a few near the eaves having to be replaced.
A new tin shingle roof has replaced the older roof.
The first roof was wood shakes, said Gay Calhoun, one of about a dozen volunteers helping with the renovation.
The bell tower of the church was removed to rid the building of bats and the bell is now in storage. A self-standing bell frame may be built later, said descendant Ted Darrell Inman, caretaker for the chapel.
Chapel history
Six Inman brothers joined the Confederate Army during the Civil War - James Anderson, Lewis Hezekiah, Joshua Ervin, Daniel Logan, Joseph A. and William Pinkney Inman.
In 1863, James Anderson, Joshua Ervin and Lewis Hezekiah Inman, and most of their regiment, were taken as prisoners of war to Camp Douglas, Illinois.
James Anderson Inman renounced his citizenship in order to get out of the Yankee prison camp. For a while, he worked in a factory in Boston, Mass., where he was associated as a minister with the Universalist Church headquarters. He worked as a cooper and contractor, making barrels.
He came home with $3,000 worth of gold sewed into the lapels of a Yankee uniform, Ted Darrell Inman said. He loaned one of his daughters $1,500 and never got any of it back. He took the rest and built Inman Chapel.
James Anderson Inman was ordained as a Universalist minister in 1868. Prior to building his own chapel, Inman preached at various meeting houses throughout Haywood County.
He was ordained by Jonathan Plott, the foster father of Inman's wife, Polly. Plott was also a licensed Universalist minister, teacher and prosperous farmer. Plott ordained and baptized James Anderson Inman on Aug. 28, 1868 at a ford in the Pigeon River near the Plott home in the Bethel community.
According to family records, the Rev. James Anderson Inman built the chapel in 1902, establishing the first Universalist Church in North Carolina, according to a constitution dated the same as his ordination date.
As a skilled carpenter, Inman built the chapel from chestnut boards, with the help of relatives and friends. One friend, Universalist minister Quellen Shinn, even sold some of his own property and donated the proceeds to the chapel.
Inman was about 76 years old when he built Inman Chapel and he preached there until his death in 1913. He is buried in the cemetery behind the chapel.
After the death of Inman, the chapel closed as a Universalist church in 1947. Services were discontinued at Inman Chapel, other than family gatherings to worship and the annual Inman homecoming service.
The chapel is now a stop on the Cold Mountain Heritage Tour and has gained interest from those who have read Charles Frazier's novel, Cold Mountain, which offered a fictional account of William Pinkney Inman.
Neither the chapel, nor the adjacent cemetery, have an endowment for their upkeep. They are maintained solely by family members and community donations.
Contributing
Appalachian Antique Hardwoods workers are replacing the ceiling boards of the chapel with new pine boards.
The boards have been painted with milk-base, semi-transparent sky-blue paint, similar to the color the Rev. James Anderson Inman chose for the ceiling of his chapel.
Some of the ceiling boards were tongue-and-groove and some were ship-lapped.
We are going to remill and cut the boards into small 4-by-6-inch blocks, which will be kiln dried and sterilized. The boards will then be branded with a drawing of the chapel and a brief history, Guy said.
Keith Inman will place the boards in barnwood frames, he said.
The ceiling boards will be sold for about $35, Guy said, with all proceeds going toward the restoration of the chapel. About 1,000 to 1,200 of the pieces will be sold.
Old pews also are being restored, with contributors being recognized with plaques attached to the pews, Ted Darrell Inman said.
There's already a lot of national interest in the chapel because of Charles Frazier's book, 'Cold Mountain', Guy said.
James Anderson Inman was the brother of William Pinkney Inman, the main character in the Cold Mountain novel.
Frazier has offered to match whatever amount of money is raised for the renovation of the chapel.
Through the efforts of the family and community, we have raised more than 65,000. It will cost more than 100,000 to complete the needed repairs, Ted Darrell Inman said.
I'm just mighty thankful to see this going on. I know there is a lot of shouting going on up there in Heaven too, he said.
