Built 1890 Designated PHMC March 19, 1991 Area 4,047 m² Phone +1 215-925-0616 | NRHP Reference # 72001166 Opened 1890 Added to NRHP 16 March 1972 | |
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Address 419 S 6th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147, USA Similar St George's Methodist, African American Museum i, Philadelphia History Museum, Hill‑Physick House, Christ Church - Philadelphia | ||
Brief history of mother bethel a m e church by richard newman
The Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1794 by Richard Allen, an African-American Methodist minister. The congregation has been located at the corner of Sixth and Lombard Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since that time, making this the oldest church property in the United States to be continuously owned by African Americans. The church was organized by African-American members of St. George's Methodist Church who walked out due to racial segregation in the worship services. The current church replaced the first one on the property.
Mother Bethel was one of the first African-American churches in the United States, dedicated July 29, 1794, by Bishop Francis Asbury. On October 12, 1794, Reverend Robert Blackwell announced that the congregation was received in full fellowship in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1816 Allen brought together other black Methodist congregations from the region to organize the new African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination. He was elected bishop of this denomination. After the American Civil War, its missionaries went to the South to help freedmen and planted many new churches in the region.
Allen and his wife, Sarah Allen are both buried at the Church. The current church building was constructed in 1888-1890, and it has been designated a National Historic Landmark.