Louis H. Persley (1888-1932)

Louis H. Persley (1888-1932) is a Georgia historical marker in Athens., Clarke County, dedicated 2006.

Located at the First AME Church near Dougherty St. and N. Hull St., Athens.

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Originally from Macon, Georgia , African-American architect Louis H. Persley attended Lincoln University, and graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1914. Persley then joined the faculty of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. One of his few projects in Georgia, Persley designed a new building for the First African Methodist Episcopal Church on this site in 1916. First AME began as Pierce's Chapel in 1866, believed to be the first congregation in Athens established by African Americans after the Civil War. Persley went on to design buildings including the Masonic Temple in Birmingham, and several structures on the campus of Tuskegee. On April 5, 1920 Louis Persley became the first African American to register with the new Georgia State Board of Registered Architects.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1856 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Colton's Georgia (1864) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1866 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1869 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
Historical map (Historical map archives, georeferenced via Allmaps)

Georgia, 1866, covering the location of Louis H. Persley (1888-1932), with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Georgia, 1866, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

Dr. Moses Waddel: Noted Educator And Presbyterian Ministerunder 1 mi
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The Athens Double-Barreled Cannonunder 1 mi
Home of Joseph Henry Lumpkin, Georgia's First Chief Justiceunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

First African Methodist Episcopal Church230 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.