As Black History Month winds down, a historic church in Gibson County is the focus of a new preservation effort tied to the Lyles Station community.

According to indianalandmarks.org, local residents are again working with Indiana Landmarks to restore Wayman Chapel AME Church, a congregation that dates back to 1886.

Indiana Landmarks reports the current church building has structural problems caused by a sinking foundation. The shifting has made the floor unsafe, leading church leaders to close the sanctuary. The condition of the roof, siding, and electrical system has also raised concerns, and the movement of the structure has increased heating and cooling costs.

The partnership follows an earlier project in the late 1990s to save the Lyles Station Consolidated School. That building, constructed in 1919, had partially collapsed before it was restored and converted into a museum and heritage learning center.

Recent grants from its Black Heritage Preservation Program, the Standiford H. Cox Fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, and the Sacred Places Indiana initiative are paying for architectural and engineering studies that will guide the next phase of work at Wayman Chapel.

Organizers say the goal is to stabilize and restore the church so it can continue to serve as a historic gathering place for the community.