Rev. Charles H Brown
(Most of the material included in this blog came from Angie B. Jefferson the daughter of Rev. Charles H Brown who authorized the Wikipedia.org article and her Mom's obituary. The materials compiled for the Centennial Celebration for Dad was also done by her right down to the copying and binding.)
I have many people
in my family that have done great things. Some like Uncle Charles is a very
famous person in and around Charlottesville, Va. Rev. Brown not only ran a successful church in
the City but also built a large part of the residential Charlottesville area.
I had the
1986 Family Reunion in Charlottesville. Uncle Charles made sure that the
reunion was a great success.
February 2,
3, 4th, 2007, the people of Charlottesville, Va. held a Centennial Celebration to mark his accomplishments in the
area. (Book printed in part for this Blog)
Front Page
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(Special Thanks to Stephanie Ann Williams Tulloch
for helping me put this blog together)
Rev. Charles Hunter Brown (aka Rev. Charles H. Brown and Rev. C.H. Brown)
(Feb. 2, 1907 - Jan. 17, 1996), an American building contractor,
religious and community leader, did much to provide affordable housing,
employment and on-the-job training, social and spiritual relief for many in
Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia during the 1940s; and, during
and after the Civil Rights Era.
Reverend Charles Hunter Brown, born February 2, 1907 to Lacy and
Martha Brown in the Proffit Historic District, Virginia was one of
several sons born to the Browns. He often missed school to help out at home
during the growing and harvesting season. As a young man, he sought employment
away from the grueling life he had known as a farmer. His early employment
included work with a company that laid Macadam roads.
Rev. Brown’s call to the Ministry came in his late twenties. He fellowshipped
with various Pentecostal churches even after he met and married Angie
Loving. He later worked at odd jobs including the now defunct Arthur’s Grill in
downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. It was then
that the early seeds of entrepreneurship started
to grow. In the meantime, he met Dr. John L. Manahan [2] who
owned Fairview Farm in Scottsville, VA located
in Southern Albemarle County. Dr. Manahan hired him to be
caretaker for his dairy farm. Brown, along with his wife and children moved into
the manor house.
There he had no problem getting into the swing of farming. Milking cows and
transporting the milk to the Monticello Dairy in Charlottesville provided an
occasional break from the farm.
Farming was what Brown did to earn the money he needed to move
his family back to Charlottesville and pursue his dream of becoming a builder. He had frequently purchased tools and Audel manuals that he
told his wife would one day make money for him. In the summer of 1945, Brown
purchased a house on 10 ½ Street that he subsequently remodeled and added on a
3-room apartment. He moved his family of 3 daughters and 2 sons back to town.
For a while, he worked for H. T. Ferron, a company that made cinderblock;
and for R. E. Lee & Sons who would later become a major player in the construction industry
in Charlottesville. Later, he hired himself out as a carpenter remodeling
houses and doing additions. Soon he had a contract to
build his first house. By the mid-1950s, Blacks who
wanted to build in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties started to seek
him out.
It was in the mid-1940s that Rev. Brown and a few others started
to hold worship services from house to house. They most often met in a 2-story
house on Henry Avenue across from Moseley’s Store. Rev. Brown and Rev. Moseley
managed to secure a plat of land on the corner of 12th Street, NW and Rosser
Avenue. In 1947, it was there that Rev. Brown constructed Holy Temple Church of God in Christ, his first major
non-residential building. Soon after building the church, Brown met E. R.
Martin. After doing a number of jobs for Martin who owned a lot of property, a
deal was struck that made Brown the owner of several acres of land on 12th
Street, NW. It was there that he built what would become the “family home.” The
land had been a dumping area on a dead end street. However, the location was
ideally suited for Brown and his family that had swelled to 5 daughters and 5
sons. Brown seemingly could not get away from farming. He maintained huge
gardens and several pigs until the late 1950s. The vegetables from the gardens
were shared with church members and neighbors alike. Brown eventually built and
sold 4 more houses on the same block. Most of the houses were constructed of cinder block with
2 front dormers for
less than $10,000. In 2006, some 45–50 years later, the average market price
was $190,000.
In April 2008, The Piedmont Area Preservation Alliance and
the Charlottesville Architectural Review Board of Charlottesville, Virginia,
recommended that Rev. Charles H. Brown's first non- residential structure, the
Holy temple Church of God in Christ, be added to its list of important historic
city buildings. In September 2008 the recommendation was accepted.
Rev. Brown became a licensed contractor in the city of
Charlottesville in the mid-1950s. He built more than 50 residential and
commercial structures as well as a dozen churches in Charlottesville and the
surrounding counties. Because many were built for people with limited income
and no means of financing such a project, Brown's challenge was to give his
clients the best, as well as the most for their money. He became popular as a
builder because he allowed his customers to make a small down payment and often
financed the balance for them or sometimes even co-signed a note at the bank.
His structure of choice was usually cinderblock.
Many of his renovations or additions received a cosmetic coat of stucco.
Brown’s reputation as a fair and honest man gained him the respect of both
Whites and Blacks in the community. During his eulogy of Rev. Brown, Rev. Paul
Coleman said "...Before there was urban renewal or redevelopment and
housing, there was Rev. Brown."
Nearly all of his structures are still standing. Unlike houses
that are constructed on a concrete slab today, Rev. Brown dug out the
foundation; poured concrete footings and constructed the walls from the ground
up. He studied drawings from books of plans that were available by mail. These
books allowed him to use his natural artistic abilities sketch to out proposed house plans for
his clients. He taught himself to read and interpret architectural drawings and
blueprints. One of his most notable commercial structures was the EconoLodge,
formerly the Econo Travel Lodge, at the University of Virginia which was
demolished in 2013
http://insidecville.com/city/visionary-builder/
to create a green space. Having established himself in the
business community as a master craftsman, Rev. Brown often did brickwork or
concrete work for other contractors. As a skilled craftsman,
he spent time teaching his laborers how to perform carpentry tasks and how to
lay brick.
In 1960, Brown became Pastor of the church he had built some 13
years earlier. He and his sons, Ralph, an ordained Minister and Nehemiah Hunter Brown[6], a musician (who became a minister in
1980); brought a community-oriented flavor to the worship experience. The elder
Rev. Brown was extremely supportive of youth in and out of the church. He
opened the doors of the church to Nehemiah and a contingent of University of Virginia students as well as
to local high school students who wanted to start a choir. The high school
students formed an Interdenominational Gospel Choir which later became the
Dimensions of Gospel who later bridged the gap between UVA students and local
towns people. The University of Virginia students had been denied the use of
facilities on the school grounds for rehearsals, but under the leadership that
they found at Holy Temple Church of God in Christ [7], the renowned Black
Voices [8] of
the University of Virginia were born. Of note
is the selection of the Holy Temple Church site for consideration to be added
to the Register of Historical Buildings. The building was selected because of
its enduring architecture and its cultural significance to the community.
During his tenure as Pastor, Brown also served as the District
Superintendent over other churches in the Charlottesville and Waynesboro, Virginia areas. Most notably,
he was known as a Bible scholar and teacher. Being a mild-mannered, soft-spoken
man gave him an air of aloofness that often gave way to a fathomless wisdom and
generosity. He was active as a Pastor, attending State and National meetings
until shortly before his death from the complications of congestive heart
failure in 1996. In 1998, shortly after his death, a Virginia State
House of Delegates Joint Resolution [9] was
issued recognizing Reverend Brown's work and contributions to the community.
Angie Loving Brown Angie Loving Brown of Charlottesville, Virginia, departed this life on, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. She was born in Esmont, Virginia, on September 25, 1918, the daughter of the late Charles and Malissa Henderson Loving.
She was the widow of the Reverend Charles Hunter Brown. Two sons, Robert Shirley Loving and Charles Brown; a daughter, Martha Buford Brown Johnson-Walker; a brother, William Anderson; and a sister, Malicia Marion Loving preceded her in death. She attended the original Jefferson School in Charlottesville and was employed briefly in the mid-60s at the University of Virginia Medical Center.
Mother Brown was also a registered daycare provider for nearly twenty years. Mother Brown devoted her life to Christ at an early age. She met and married the Reverend Charles H. Brown in November 1939 and they raised their family along with many other neighborhood children. They readily opened their church and home to UVA students in the early 70s sometimes preparing meals for them. Mother Brown cooked not just for the students, but she was the first food vendor on the downtown mall serving up her renowned potato salad and sweet potato pie.
She lived nearly 69 years in the home that she and her husband built in the 12th and Rosser neighborhood. Mother Brown was known to walk anywhere she wanted to go until she was well into her 90s. She was blessed with a strong will and a sound mind. Mother Brown was known for her love of stylish clothes and hats.
She leaves to cherish her memory five sons, Joseph, Matthew, Ralph, Nehemiah and John Brown; four daughters, Virginia Wright and husband, Willie of Richmond, Virginia, Angie B. Jefferson and husband, Oscar of Palmyra, Virginia, Mary F. Brown, and Millissia Monk of Charlottesville, Virginia; 41 grandchildren; 50+ great grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends. Funeral Service will be held 12 p.m. Saturday, July 5, 2014, at the Holy Temple Church of God In Christ, 12th and Rosser Ave., with the Reverend Ralph Brown officiating.
Great Uncle Charles H Brown is the
brother of my Grandfather John Brown
