The town of Waynesville, North Carolina, has been devastated by flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. When I drove through a few weeks ago on a Labor Day weekend road trip, I immediately stopped to photograph the Carpenter Gothic twin towers. It’s a gorgeous church that sits on a hill. Based on its location, it may have escaped the flooding.
The church was built in 1907 and is a part of the historic Black community, Pigeon Street.
Formed in the 1880s, the Jones Temple AME Zion Church is part of the historic Pigeon Street community. Built in 1922, the church still hosts regular services, even though church membership has dwindled.
The Anderson-Austin-Moss House was built in 1867. The Gothic Revival house with gingerbread detail is a contributing property to the College Hill Historic District in Brownsville, Tennessee.
At first glance, this multi-story art installation looks like an electrical substation, but it’s the creation of Billy Tripp. The work began in 1989 after a local auto parts store burned down, and he had an idea on how to use the leftover beams.
In an article on the Haywood County Tennessee website, Tripp shares, ‘As I got started, I developed different themes; firstly, an outdoor church, I’m not religious, but I like things that are holy or special. And I’m going to be buried there, so [the Mindfield] is like my grave marker.’ He states it also about grief. He lost both of his parents, and there are memorials to them embedded in the structure. Ultimately, the installation, considered the largest piece of artwork in the state of Tennessee, is a conversation with Tripp himself.
Tripp plans to add to the Mindfield until he passes away. He has gotten permission from the city of Brownsville to be buried here. The Kohler Foundation will be taking care of the structure after his death.
If you visit, you can only see the structure from the parking lot.
