Homer’s Chapel, originally known as Homma Chapel, began as the center of a small Choctaw community. Early camp houses and animal pens would be arranged in a circular pattern around the chapel, reflecting the design of pre-removal stomp grounds. The chapel’s entrance faces east, a meaningful orientation for the Choctaw people, as it aligns with the rising sun, a symbol of light and renewal.
Although the current structure is not the original chapel built sometime between the 1850s and 1925, the existing building, `dating to 1925, still holds deep historical and cultural value. In 2016, the property was donated to the Choctaw Nation by the Cumberland Presbytery.
Today, the chapel sits vacant and unused. The Choctaw Nation Brownfields Program has conducted environmental assessments and will address contaminants associated with pre-1978 building materials in preparation for this important cultural site’s potential reuse or preservation.