Town of Shallotte declines donation of “Little Church”

SHALLOTTE, NC (WWAY) — The town of Shallotte has turned down the donation of a more than 100-year-old church by an area resident who has spent several years working to repair and update it.

St. Mark AME Zion Church or Little Church in Shallotte was dedicated in 1917 and served as a place of worship for African Americans before closing in 1990.

Several years ago, the church was purchased by Dr. Chris Moshoures, owner of Vision Square Eyecare, who began working on repairing it.

Moshoures declined to speak on camera with WWAY but sent a letter to the town last year saying he would like to donate the church to the town, with several requirements.

One requirement was moving the church from its current location at the intersection of Village Point Road and Bricklanding Road.

“She is a memorial to the group of people who struggled financially to build a house of worship over 100 years ago and she deserves to be finished properly and to be in a safe place – not at a busy intersection that may be claimed by the NCDOT in the future,” Moshoures said in his letter.

Shallotte town mayor Walter Eccard said there was one big reason why the town couldn’t accept the donation.

“Right now, the predominant concerns were cost,” Eccard said. “It would cost well over $10,000 just to move the church. Then there would be repair work that would be necessary and so the costs were fairly substantial and it wasn’t clear how we would use the church effectively.”

Eccard said that the cost of continued maintenance of the church once moved was another factor, as that was a requirement Moshoures mentioned in his letter.

He added that this decision won’t prevent the town from considering accepting the church as a donation at a later time if the concerns mentioned can be addressed.