The Oakes Center was originally a shootoff an offshoot of the United Methodist Church of Summit. It started as a wooden Sunday School in 1898…
…and was replaced by the current stone building in 1919. Just three years later, in 1922, it was renamed in honor of Reverend Jay Adams Oakes.
In the 1980s, the Oakes Memorial Church and the United Methodist Church of Summit merged back together, leaving the building to be used as the Oakes Memorial Outreach Center, a home for nonprofit organizations.
In 2002, the Methodists decided to sell the building; luckily, before it could be razed and replaced by new housing, it was purchased by the Tiger Baron Foundation (a philanthropic organization with no web presence). Under Tiger Baron ownership, the residing nonprofit organizations were permitted to stay put. It’s officially the home of the Stony Hill Players, whose signs fly out in front.
References:
Meola, P.E. (1998). Images of America: Summit. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC.
Sullivan, P. (2010). “Oakes Center plays host to philanthropy and the arts.” Summit Patch. http://summit.patch.com/articles/oakes-center-plays-host-to-philanthropy-and-the-arts
