South Carolina, Charleston County, Charleston
![]()
The oldest African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church in the south, Emanuel A.M.E. Church was organized as
Hampstead Free African church in 1818 by Rev. Morris Brown. After seceding from the Methodist Church,
Charlestonians organized three churches that were named collectively the "Bethal Circuit". Rev. Brown and other African-American ministers then sought to have the Hampstead Free African Church affiliated with Rev. Richard Allen's African Church movement in Philadelphia. In 1865 Bethel Circuit acquired the present site on Boundry Street (now Calhoun Street) and constructed a wooden church under the direction of its minister, Richard Harvey Cain. The church was renamed "Emanuel" meaning "God with us". Emanuel A.M.E. has the oldest African-American congregation south of Baltimore.
(African Americans • Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The oldest African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church in the south, Emanuel A.M.E. Church was organized as
Hampstead Free African church in 1818 by Rev. Morris Brown. After seceding from the Methodist Church,
Charlestonians organized three churches that were named collectively the "Bethal Circuit". Rev. Brown and other African-American ministers then sought to have the Hampstead Free African Church affiliated with Rev. Richard Allen's African Church movement in Philadelphia. In 1865 Bethel Circuit acquired the present site on Boundry Street (now Calhoun Street) and constructed a wooden church under the direction of its minister, Richard Harvey Cain. The church was renamed "Emanuel" meaning "God with us". Emanuel A.M.E. has the oldest African-American congregation south of Baltimore.(African Americans • Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
