When African American citizens founded the St. James African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Helena, Montana, in 1888, their population topped 250 people in a city of roughly 12,000 souls. Located in Helena’s eastside residential district on 114 N. Hoback, the church building rested on … Read MoreSaint James African Methodist Episcopal Church, Helena, Montana (1888- )
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is an historically African American Protestant denomination based in New York City, New York. Also known as the Freedom Church, the AMEZ was officially recognized in 1821, but the foundations for Zion’s founding began in the late 1700s. In 1796, due to … Read MoreAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church (1821- )
Following emancipation in 1865, former slaves across the South detached themselves from white-controlled congregations and established independent churches. In Fort Worth, Texas, historic Mt. Gilead Baptist Church was one of those new congregations. Over time it would serve the spiritual and cultural needs of African … Read MoreMt. Gilead Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas (1875- )
Morning Star Baptist Missionary Church opened in 1946 on 631 South Douglas Avenue in Pasco, Washington, where it stands to this day. The church was founded to provide for the spiritual needs of the thousands of black workers who came to Hanford Atomic Facility during … Read MoreMorning Star Baptist Missionary Church Pasco, Washington (1946- )
The First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Oakland, California emerged in the eastern part of the Bay Area in 1858. The congregation itself was founded by members of the black community in Oakland at the time, but it wasn’t until 1863 that they actually had … Read MoreFirst AME Church, Oakland, California (1858- )
Mount Zion Baptist Church, originally named Second Baptist Church, was founded in 1909 by an African American religious study group under the leadership of Reverend Sandy Lyons, and established on North Hartford street of Tulsa, Oklahoma. At first, the church didn’t have it’s own building … Read MoreMt. Zion Baptist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma (1909- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Bethel AME Church Reno is the longest operating African-American congregation in Nevada. An African Methodist Episcopal congregation of seven organized it in 1907. Its first building was constructed in 1910 at 220 Bell Street in Reno, Nevada. The AME Church sent Reverend … Read MoreBethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Reno, Nevada (1907– )
“Image Ownership: Spencer Means” Emanuel A.M.E. Church is the oldest black A.M.E. Church in the South and contains the oldest black congregation south of Baltimore, Maryland. The church’s early roots emerged out of slavery in a shared legacy with Charleston (South Carolina) Methodist Episcopal Church … Read MoreEmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (1816- )
The Second Baptist Church, the oldest black Baptist church in El Paso, Texas, was established in 1884. The brick edifice that is its current home was erected between 1903 and 1907 at Second and Virginia Streets, standing at the intersection of the city’s Mexican American … Read MoreSecond Baptist Church, El Paso, Texas (1884- )
Salem Baptist Church, in Alton, Illinois, first organized in 1819, still stands as the only predominantly African American congregation in Madison County, which is situated along the Mississippi River across from Missouri. African American stonemason Madison Banks and white contractor Samuel Marshall, both from Alton, … Read MoreSalem Baptist Church, Alton, Illinois (1819- )
