Hosanna Meeting House, also known as the Hosanna A.U.M.P. Church, is a historic African American church near

Oxford, Pennsylvania Oxford is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Oxford is the closest town to Lincoln University. The population was 5,733 at the 2020 census. History The borough was once called Oxford Crossing and Oxford Village during the ...

, United States, on the present-day campus of Lincoln University. Organized in 1843 and constructed by 1845, the Hosanna Meeting House was a station on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

and a primary place of worship for members of the free Black community of Hinsonville. A Pennsylvania state historical marker was placed at the church in 1992.

Architecture

The Hosanna Meeting House is a small, one-room, one-story chapel constructed of red brick with a plain exterior, a shingled gable roof, and wooden front steps up to a wraparound porch. A hidden crawlspace beneath the floorboards once served as a hiding place for

fugitive slaves In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called free ...

. A small historic cemetery adjacent to the church was established in 1854 as one of Chester County's first marked grave sites for Black decedents. Along with other former congregants and veterans of various wars, seventeen African American veterans of the

54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry ...

are buried in the cemetery.

History

Organized in 1843 and built by 1845, the Hosanna Meeting House is the last remaining structure from the village of Hinsonville, a free Black community formed prior to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Affiliated with the

A.U.M.P. Church The African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, usually called "the A.U.M.P. Church," is a Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It was chartered by Peter Spencer (religious leader), Peter Spencer (1782–1843) ...

, Hosanna was a station on the

and hosted

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, us ...

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Baumfree; November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist of New York Dutch heritage and a women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to f ...

, and other visitors. To honor Hosanna's significance to the free Black community, the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...

placed a marker by Old U.S. Route 1 (

Baltimore Pike The Baltimore Pike was an auto trail connecting Baltimore, Maryland, with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today, parts of the road are signed as U.S. Route 1 (US 1), US 13, and a small portion of Pennsylvania Route 41 (PA 41). A section of the road ...

) where the roadway passes the meeting house, dedicating the marker on May 9, 1992. As of 2015, the congregation consisted of fewer than twenty people. The church has remained a place of worship for Lincoln University's students and staff.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosanna Meeting House African-American history of Pennsylvania A.U.M.P. Church African-American churches African Methodist Episcopal churches in Pennsylvania Methodist churches in Pennsylvania Churches completed in 1845 1845 establishments in Pennsylvania Churches in Chester County, Pennsylvania Cemeteries in Chester County, Pennsylvania Churches on the Underground Railroad Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)

Architecture

History

See also

References