Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church is a historic building for the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

in the city of Americus in Sumter County, Georgia, U.S.. It has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since September 30, 1997, and is significant in architecture and for local African American heritage. With

Pre-history

The first Christian

black church The Black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are led by, African Americans, ...

in Americus was the Bethesda Baptist, founded in 1866, after of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

ended. The Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church congregation was the second black church in Americus, founded in 1869. It was named after Bishop

Jabez Pitt Campbell Jabez Pitt Campbell (February 5, 1815 – August 9, 1891)Campbell, Jabez Pitt. Ancestry.com. was an American minister, activist, philanthropist and the eighth bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), the first independent African- ...

. The Campbell Chapel A.M.E. land was purchased from Mahala Bosworth on January 29, 1877. The first church was a wood framed, steepled church built by S. S. Sloan and Company. Church member Elbert Head, donated land in 1879 for the A.M.E.

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...

on Winn Street in Americus. After the establishment of Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church, other A.M.E. churches were founded in Sumter County; including Allen Chapel A.M.E., St. Paul A.M.E. (1890), Mt. Creek A.M.E. (1893), and Mt. Carmel A.M.E..

History

The present Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church brick building was completed in 1920, and designed by black architect Louis Hudson Presley. That same year in 1920, Presley had become the first African American architect registered with the Georgia State Board of Registered Architects. This building has been the headquarters for the church since it was built in 1920, and has played an important role in the black community in southern Georgia. It has hosted conferences, revivals, various entertainment events, and guest lectures. On March 29, 1926, Bishop W. Sampson Brooks (1865–1939) gave a guest lecture to the congregation at this church.

Architecture

It is a two-story brick building in a

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style, featuring a

gabled roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its roof ridge, ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The roof pitch, p ...

with overhanging

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

, dormer windows, a brick

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows, and a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell Chapel AME Church African Methodist Episcopal churches in Georgia (U.S. state) Churches completed in 1920 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Methodist churches in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Sumter County, Georgia Romanesque Revival architecture in Georgia (U.S. state)

Pre-history

History

Architecture

See also

References