Mary Adeline Henderson Alexander Papers

The Mary Adeline Henderson Alexander papers document African American history in Johnson City, Tennessee, and greater Washington County. The collection features materials pertaining to African American churches including Bethel Baptist Church, Friendship Baptist Church, Thankful Baptist Church, and St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; materials pertaining to schools, such as Langston School, its principal J. Neil Armstrong, Dunbar School, and Warner Institute; and community organizations Mary Alexander was involved with, such as the Historic African American Site Preservation Society (HASP), which would later become Langston Heritage Group. In addition, the collection features materials pertaining to the activities of Mary Alexander as they relate to her deep interests in the community, such as her campaign for County Commissioner of Washington County in 2002; historic preservation and placement of historical markers; research files that form the basis for her 2001 Master of Arts in History thesis, "Black Life in Johnson City, Tennessee, 1856-1965: A Historical Chronology," which include historical census data, cemetery plats, and maps of Johnson City; and a syllabus for a history class she taught at East Tennessee State University. Of particular note are three spiral bound notebooks that contain thesis interview notes, two excerpts from her thesis regarding Black church history, and several publications related to regional history such as “The Formative Years of Johnson City Tennessee, 1885-1890: A Social History” by Ophelia Cope Daniels (1947), and “Boones Creek Church the Earliest Years” (2001). The collection consists of articles, census data, correspondence, deeds, design guidelines, directories, documents, grant proposals, maps, notes, plats, program books, syllabi, and a yearbook.