National Register of Historic Places

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Springtown, Cumberland County, New Jersey
Listed
November 12, 1999
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
99001312

About this property

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic African Methodist Episcopal Church in Springtown, New Jersey, United States. The church was part of two free negro communities, Othello and Springtown, established by local Quaker families, like the Van Leer Family. The congregation was established in 1810 in Greenwich Township as the African Methodist Society and joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1817. A previous church building was burned down in the 1830s in an arson incident and the current structure was built between 1838 and 1841. It is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church congregation in New Jersey and one of the last buildings standing where Richard Allen is known to have preached. The church and community were a stop on the Greenwich Line of the Underground Railroad through South Jersey operated by Harriet Tubman for ten years. The church and its members provided shelter and support for fugitive slaves fleeing Maryland and Delaware for free states in the north and Canada. Several church members were operators in the Underground Railroad. The church is on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. It was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1999.

Location

Springtown, Cumberland County, New Jersey
39.40192, -75.32971

Categories

BLACK
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Greenwich Historic District
Listed
0.7 mi
Maskel, Thomas, House
Industrial
2.5 mi
Remington, John and Elizabeth, House
Industrial
2.8 mi
Giles, Gen. James, House
Industrial
5 mi
Potter's Tavern
Early Republic
5.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church listed on the National Register?

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1999.

What type of historic resource is Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church?

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church?

The period of significance for Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is recorded as the industrial era.

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