Cove's Black Community

If we moderns could go back in time 150 years or so, to the sanctuary of Cove
Presbyterian Church of 1839, we might not realize where we were right away. The
interior of the church looked a lot different then. If you look closely at the floor plan of
Cove before it was remodeled after the storm of 1880, you can perceive in the seating
arrangements the visible manifestations of a far different social reality. The members of
Cove Presbyterian Church were physically organized, or segregated if you prefer, by
race, sex and age. The pews on the south side of the church were reserved for white
women, while the pews on the north side of the church were reserved for white men.
Towards the very back of the sanctuary there was a pen for young white children,
who were supervised by Black female slaves. They may have intended to cover up the
sounds of children when they placed the organ right up against the front wall of the pen.
The space in front of the pen and the organ was taken up ...