The Lingle Hut

Sept. 19. The Marion Stedman Covington Foundation has awarded $10,000 to the Reeves Temple AME Zion Church in support of the renovation of the historic Unity Church Cabin / Lingle Hut.

The Unity Church Cabin, located at 219 Watson St. in Davidson, was built by mill workers in 1932 and was the first Depression-era, Rustic Revival, communally-built log building in Mecklenburg County, according to a town newsletter.

In 1966, the Unity Church and Cabin were sold to the Reeves Temple AME Zion Church. At the request of church member Cecelia Conner, businessman and Davidson native Walter Lingle Jr. agreed to help the church finance the property with the condition that the Unity Church Cabin be renamed the Lingle Hut to honor his mother, Alice Merle Dupuy Lingle.

The cabin has had many uses from picnics to fellowship events, and it continues to play an important role in the Town of Davidson’s history. The Unity Church Cabin / Lingle Hut was designated as a local historic landmark in 2008.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Preservation Commission Planner and Davidson resident Stewart Gray said, “It is wonderful to see the community coming together to restore the Unity Church Cabin/Lingle Hut.

“There has been a continuous strong commitment from the Reeves Temple A.M.E. Zion Church to save the log building, and many folks outside of the church from Davidson and Cornelius have been working to preserve the building since 2018.

“It reflects the community effort back in 1932 to build the cabin, which relied on mill workers, members of DCPC, Davidson College students, and the college’s YMCA.”