First African Methodist Episcopal Church | |
First AME Church in 2015 | |
Location | 521 North Hull Street, Athens, Athens–Clarke County, Georgia, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 33°57′38″N 83°22′45″W / 33.960626°N 83.379217°W |
Built | 1916 |
Architect | Louis H. Persley |
NRHP reference No. | 80000991 |
Added to NRHP | March 10, 1980 [1] |
The First African Methodist Episcopal Church (First AME Church), formerly known as Pierce’s Chapel, [2] is an AME church established in 1866 by Rev. Henry McNeal Turner, and located at 521 North Hull Street in Athens, Georgia. [3] [2]
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 10, 1980. [1] [4]
First African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first African American church in Athens. [2] [3] In 1881, the congregation purchased the lot on N. Hull Street, the present church location. [2] Louis H. Persley, the first African American registered architect in Georgia, designed the building in 1916. [2] While the congregation's church building was being constructed in 1916 services were held at Union Hall in what is now the Morton Theatre. [5]
The original church's basement of the church was used as a school for children and adults. It was named Pierce's Chapel in honor of Reverend Lovick Pierce, a white minister who helped organize the congregation in a building on the Oconee River. [6] The educational center was opened in 1964, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Clayton Duke Wilkerson. [3]
The church had a parsonage located at 147 Strong Street, built in 1921 and demolished as part of an urban renewal project in the 1960s. [7]
In 2017, the church received a new pastor, B.A. Hart. [8]
First African Methodist Episcopal Church | |
First AME Church in 2015 | |
Location | 521 North Hull Street, Athens, Athens–Clarke County, Georgia, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 33°57′38″N 83°22′45″W / 33.960626°N 83.379217°W |
Built | 1916 |
Architect | Louis H. Persley |
NRHP reference No. | 80000991 |
Added to NRHP | March 10, 1980 [1] |
The First African Methodist Episcopal Church (First AME Church), formerly known as Pierce’s Chapel, [2] is an AME church established in 1866 by Rev. Henry McNeal Turner, and located at 521 North Hull Street in Athens, Georgia. [3] [2]
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 10, 1980. [1] [4]
First African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first African American church in Athens. [2] [3] In 1881, the congregation purchased the lot on N. Hull Street, the present church location. [2] Louis H. Persley, the first African American registered architect in Georgia, designed the building in 1916. [2] While the congregation's church building was being constructed in 1916 services were held at Union Hall in what is now the Morton Theatre. [5]
The original church's basement of the church was used as a school for children and adults. It was named Pierce's Chapel in honor of Reverend Lovick Pierce, a white minister who helped organize the congregation in a building on the Oconee River. [6] The educational center was opened in 1964, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Clayton Duke Wilkerson. [3]
The church had a parsonage located at 147 Strong Street, built in 1921 and demolished as part of an urban renewal project in the 1960s. [7]
In 2017, the church received a new pastor, B.A. Hart. [8]