Lane Gresham
Amanda Deas, I honor you.
For a commitment to living in community during a time when the color of your skin separated you from equal treatment.
For leaving a legacy of generosity in deeding a parcel of land to establish a worship community and moving a small wooden chapel to the site.
For your vision to offer a place for the community to gather.
The structure that housed the [Colored] African Methodist Episcopal Church still stands just off the square in downtown Clarkesville.
We don’t know much about Charles and Amanda Deas, a black couple who lived on Lot No. 10 on the square. What we do know is pieced together from historical records and newspaper articles.
They were married on Nov. 27, 1866.
Freedman Charles Deas was a voter registrar for Habersham County. In the census records, he is listed as literate, a merchant, and landowner.
The book “Freedom’s Lawmakers – A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction” by Eric Foner, lists 136 known Georgia Officeholders.
Charles Deas is the sole entry from Habersham County.
Mrs. J.T. Pittard mentions the high-profile, community-minded couple in an Oct. 27, 1927 article in The Tri-County Advertiser.
It seems Amanda Deas possessed a gift for hospitality.
“Uncle Charley and Aunt Mandy Deas lived in a big house on the corner where the bank now stands. Aunt Mandy baked the gingerbread for the community. The room she cooked in had a tremendous old fireplace, and she baked in a kind of dutch oven arrangement…it was a great treat to be allowed to go see Aunt Mandy. When she saw me, her capacious arms would open to receive me in a warm embrace, and then a gingerbread was always forthcoming…”
As a former enslaved person, Amanda Deas’ life spanned decades of tremendous societal shifts.
After Charles Deas passed, she inherited his land holdings; her name is on the deed recorded in 1886 that paid forward a most generous gift – the land on which to establish a church home.
Deas Chapel served the AME community for many years before its congregation dwindled. Several decades ago, Clarkesville First United Methodist Church members led efforts to repair the aging structure. The building sat empty for many years before being privately purchased several years ago.
Deas Chapel is thought to be the last tangible remnant of early black history in Clarkesville.
Its fate seemed uncertain until recently when the City of Clarkesville secured ownership of the historic property.
Its future as a community gathering space is now possible.
Plans to use the building and grounds for small weddings, baptisms and other special events are in the works.
Opening the viewscape between the chapel and Sam Pitts Park is another idea being discussed.
Charles and Amanda Deas sleep in unmarked graves in the Old Clarkesville Cemetery.
More than simple samples of spice cake, what example does this couple set for those of us who love this community?
What will our legacy be?
E. Lane Gresham is a writer, photographer and community lover. She serves as the chair of the Historic Clarkesville Cemetery Preservation, Inc. Board of Directors and as the Director of Communications and Media at Tallulah Falls School. She can be reached at elanegresham@gmail.com.