African Methodist Episcopal Church
Decatur and Frederick Sts., Cumberland, MDThe African Methodist Episcopal Church building in Cumberland is a material part of the history of the free blacks in that city. This substantial building reflect the level of prosperity the black community had reached by 1892, as well as the prominent place of the Church in the life of the community.
The congregation that built this church is itself important in Maryland's black history as an early organized group of free blacks. In 1847 blacks who had for many years worshiped from the balcony at the Center Street Methodist Episcopal Church decided to leave the white congregation and build their own church. They elected a board of trustees, and a plain brick building was completed by the end of 1848. A Father Golden, of Baltimore, came to Cumberland to help in this effort.
In 1847 Lot #15 in Magruder's Addition to Cumberland was sold to the trustees of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, in particular, Burgis Magruder. In 1863, after Magruder's death, his administrator confirmed the sale to the trustees, described as "free men of color". The deed mentions a "church and lot".
This first church was rebuilt and enlarged in 1871 and enlarged again in 1875 to accommodate the increasing membership. The present church was built in 1892 in the Methodist tradition with the sanctuary on the second floor and Sunday school rooms below.
A certificate of incorporation was recorded for the congregation on July 7, 1886. The trustees at that time were Pastor Joseph H. Robinson, Frederick Burger, Allison Shackelford, Philip L. Brown, William H. Campbell, and Stewart McNeal.
Two years later a deed was recorded from the House Building Association of Cumberland to the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The lot description was as follows:
All that lot ... the intersection of the North side of Decatur Street with the East side of Frederick Street.
In 1901 this lot was sold to William M. Mertens. Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.