2314 Gervais Street
2314 Gervais StreetSite of Waverly Methodist Church / Wheatley Branch Library
In 1915, Waverly Methodist Church's congregation commissioned architect J. H. Sams to design its sanctuary at 2314 Gervais Street. Completed by 1917, the facility served its white congregation until 1936, when it was converted into the Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the Richland County Public Library system. Replacing the branch's original location within the black YMCA building at 1429 Park Street, the relocated library became a popular cultural center for the Lower Waverly African-American community until 1972, when the Devine Street Branch replaced it. In 1993, a new facility was established at 913 Woodrow Street and renamed Wheatley in honor of its predecessor.
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2310 Gervais Street, with the sign for the Wheatley Branch public library to the left, 1958. Image courtesy Joseph Winter Collection, South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia
