The foundation of Union Missionary Baptist Church has been drastically improved through pier and beam replacement conducted by Precision Foundation and House Leveling of Longview, Texas. The leveling and stabilization work occurred during the week of August 14 and resulted in the best foundation the 1883 structure has ever had according to Kenneth Jarman, owner of the leveling company. Taking great care to prevent collapse of any part of the building, new pier footings were excavated by hand with small batches of concrete mixed and poured to create a much deeper and stronger base. Carefully inspected beams were replaced as needed. These were leveled by appropriate placement on cinder block cores which will be restored to 1883 condition using historic bricks salvaged from this job.
“The foundation was leveled with the northeast corner that was raised 10 inches,” said Danny Hurt, the project’s general contractor. “This matches with the specifications from our restoration architect and facilitates construction of the back porch, the installation of a lift for ADA access, and the Phase 2 construction of our support annex with restrooms, storage, and office,” he added. The covered area between will provide space for interpretive displays; one of which is the historic, in-ground baptistry.
