Double Feature
Mother Bethel AME Church boasts two historic markers!
A rare sight: two Pennsylvania historical markers within feet of each other. Photo by Jim Murphy, author of Real Philly History, Real Fast.
Walking or driving around Philly, you’ll often spot some of the 300+ blue and gold historical markers placed around the city by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
What’s unusual though, is having two
markers erected just feet from each other
I first noticed this rare double-signage while taking photos at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church for my book, “Real Philly History, Real Fast.”
You see a marker for Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church facing Lombard Street … and one for the Free African Society facing 6th Street. Both are also near an impressive bronze statue of founder Richard Allen.
That’s when you realize you are in
sacred territory for African Americans
The church itself is said to be located on the oldest parcel of ground continuously owned by African Americans in the United States. Allen purchased an old blacksmith shop nearby and had it hauled to the church’s current location.
Allen and Absalom Jones started two different churches — Mother Bethel AME and the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas. They also worked together as leaders of the Free African Society, which the Historical Society of Pennsylvania says aided newly freed Blacks to “gather strength and develop leaders in the community.”
Interesting Oddities:
While writing my book, I could not find out why Richard Allen, a slave known as “Negro Richard” took the last name of Allen. But Robert Branch, a fellow certified member of the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides and an outstanding re-enactor of a number of Black historic Philadelphia personages, recently told me the name Allen came from William Allen, Chief Justice of Colonial Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court. Allentown is also named for William Allen. I don’t have a reference to prove this connection to Richard, but for now at least I have a lead. However, I still can’t find a printed reference to document this as fact.
Richard Allen is pinpointed by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, author of “Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge” as the likely person who helped Ona escape from Philadelphia via the Underground Railroad. “Every Black Philadelphian knew that there was one man who could and did help runaways, the well-known preacher Richard Allen,” she writes. Allen also was a chimney sweep who apparently did work at the Executive Mansion, and a cobbler who sold shoes out of his home on Spruce Street.
Ona Judge never revealed who helped her escape from the President’s House at 6th and Market Street in Philadelphia. She also didn’t tell anyone that Captain John Bowles commanded the ship she escaped on — until ten years after Bowles’ death.
FAST FACTS
Name: Mother Bethel AME Church
Location: 419 S. 6th Street, Phila., PA 19147
Museum Tours: Mother Bethel provides tours Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m — 3 p.m. by appointment. Contact the church office to make your reservation. It’s an excellent museum and well worth a visit.
Phone: 215–925–0616
Free African Society Marker Copy: Established in 1787 under the leadership of Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, this organization fostered identity, leadership and unity among Blacks and became the forerunner of the first African American churches in this city.
Mother Bethel A.M.E Marker Copy: Founded on ground purchased by Richard Allen in 1787, this congregation is the mother church of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination. The present structure, erected 1889, replaces three earlier churches on this site.
Some Sources:
https://bethelamespokane.com/about-us/richard-allen-a-m-e-founder/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Original_pulpit_of_Bishop_Richard_Allen.JPG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pennsylvania_state_historical_markers_in_Philadelphia_County
https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-27B
https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-27C
https://hsp.org/history-online/exhibits/richard-allen-apostle-of-freedom/the-free-african-society
https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/72001166_text
Dunbar, Erica Armstrong, Never Caught. New York: Atria, 2017.
Another view of the blue and gold Pennsylvania historical markers at Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, 6th and Lombard Street, Philadelphia. Photo by Jim Murphy