LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) - Members at Hackney Chapel have started raising money to keep the chapel’s legacy alive.

Hackney Chapel was built in 1899 as a place of worship for African-American people to worship before the end of Jim Crow laws.

The 126-year-old building is in need of some major upgrades to preserve its history.

“We have to have of course a roof repair, exterior preservation, interior renovation,” Nicholas Jones, a member at Hackney Chapel, said.

Jones said the chapel wants to raise $175,000 to help with these upgrades. The chairperson of the chapel, Vanessa Black, said if they are unable to get the money for it, the building may have to come down.

“It would be devastating,” Black said. “I mean this church has been there all my life.”

Hackney Chapel was also put on th

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