The congregation of an East Lawrence church attended by the young Langston Hughes is seeking a spot for the structure on the National Register of Historic Places — in hopes the designation will help raise money for much-needed maintenance.

“We want to make sure that we are able to preserve for history, if you will, the work of our ancestors,” said the Rev. Verdell Taylor, pastor of St. Luke AME Church.

The Rev. Verdell Taylor sweeps the sidewalk in front of St. Luke AME Church, 900 N.Y. The church was organized during the Civil War, and its current building was constructed in 1910.

And that history is rich. Aside from Hughes’ involvement, St. Luke, a predominantly black church founded during the Civil War, claims connections to the Underground Railroad that transported slaves to freedom, and was a key site in Lawrence’s own halting progress toward civil rights.

“It’s just a fabulous historical treasure, given its connection to the Civil Rights movement,” said Bill Tuttle, a Kansas University professor assisting the effort to attract a national designation.

Martha Hagedorn-Krass, an architectural historian with the Kansas State Historical Society, agreed.

“Clearly, architecturally it’s an important building,” she said. “And its association with the black history in Lawrence is important.”

The African Methodist Episcopal congregation got its start in 1862 during the Civil War. Taylor said a building was intended for near 10th and New Hampshire, but plans changed after nearly two dozen Union soldiers — most of them black — were slaughtered near the site during Quantrill’s Raid in 1863.

The current building at Ninth and New York was constructed in 1910. Not long after, Hughes began attending services with his foster aunt known as “Auntie Reed.” He later wrote about his experiences in the church in the book “The Big Sea.”

In a 1960 radio interview, he said those early days at the church had influenced his writing style.

Leonard Monroe, Lawrence, a member of the St. Luke AME choir, sings during a worship service Sunday. St. Luke is one of the oldest black churches in Lawrence, and members are trying to complete research that would allow an application for the National Register of Historic Places.

“I was very much moved, always, by the rhythms of the Negro church, of the spirituals, of the sermons,” he said. “And when I began to write poetry, that influence came through.”

Today the church has 50 regular attendees, Taylor said. The building was named to the Kansas Register of Historical Places in 2001. Attempts to gain national listing, however, have slowed because some of the building’s history is shrouded in mystery.

“We don’t know who the architect was, we don’t know who built it,” Tuttle said. “We’re working on answering those questions.”

The church will apply for national listing early next year, Taylor said.

He said the 94-year-old building badly needs tuckpointing and other stabilization measures to stay in good condition. National listing would bring tax credits and attract grants to pay for that work.

City churches trace roots to pioneer days (9-19-04)

“It’s an amazing effort to keep the building in shape,” Taylor said. “Those things take a great deal more money than we as a congregation can come up with.”

And, he says, the listing will help the church tell its story.

“Certainly the notoriety, to be ranked with many other historic places on the list” will be a benefit, he sad. “That will cause people to come to the community to seek out those historic places. … They will certainly look for St. Luke.”