welcome to historic st. paul ame church

Origins (1830s–1850s).
Bellefonte’s earliest Black Methodist congregation shows up in records by August 1834 as an AME Zion (AMEZ) body with 26 members; local tradition long placed the organization in 1836 under AMEZ elder Samuel Johnson. This first group met on/near East Logan Street and is sometimes called “Zion’s Wesleyan A.M.E.” in later sources. In the 1850s a rift between “Wesleyans” and “Bethelites” (AME) led Bellefonte’s Bethelites to form their own congregation—what became St. Paul AME—on the west side of town. Black History Center+1PAGenWeb

Building the “Church on the Hill” (1859–1860).
St. Paul’s erected a frame church on Halfmoon Hill in 1859–1860 on land associated with local Quaker ironmaster William A. Thomas; his home also functioned as an Underground Railroad safe house. The church site and Thomas’s aid are documented in local histories and press accounts. Black History CenterThe Express

Underground Railroad & Civil War era.
St. Paul AME is widely cited as a documented Underground Railroad stop. Coverage by regional media, tour materials, and historians connects the church and Thomas family to assisting freedom seekers; several Black families (notably the Mills family) settled here, with sons serving in the U.S. Colored Troops. WJACLocal HistoriaThe ExpressCivil Rights Advocacy

Community leadership & early civil rights.
St. Paul’s members were prominent in local equality efforts. On Sept. 8, 1885, Pastor J. J. Norris and lay leaders William H. Mills, Charles Garner, and Jackson McDonald pressed the Bellefonte School Board to end unequal schooling; their push helped place Bellefonte among the earliest U.S. districts to move toward integration (1886–87). The church also hosted regional AME Sunday school conventions and maintained detailed ledgers now archived at Penn State. Black History Center+3Black History Center+3Black History Center+3

Fire and rebuilding (1910).
A furnace-related blaze destroyed the 50-year-old frame church on Feb. 20, 1910. The congregation rebuilt in brick the same year on the same foundations (121 St. Paul St.). A deed from a trustee of the late William A. Thomas to St. Paul’s trustees was recorded two weeks after the fire; researchers note the lot’s small, rocky footprint and that the congregation appears never to have had a dedicated burial ground. Black History Center+1

20th century to present.
The brick church has anchored Bellefonte’s Black community through the 20th century and sits within the Bellefonte Historic District (NRHP-listed). The late Rev. Dr. Donna King—a pastor and noted local historian—helped keep this history alive in the 2000s–2020s, featured by PBS and regional outlets. Worship today continues at 121 St. Paul Street(“Church on the Hill”). WikipediaPBSStateCollege.comST. PAUL AME CHURCH BELLEFONTE, PA

You’ll see two “founding” dates because there were two related congregations:

  • 1834–1840s: an AME Zion (Wesleyan/“Zion’s Wesleyan AME”) body on East Logan Street.

  • 1859–1860 onward: the Bethel/AME congregation that built on Halfmoon Hill (St. Paul AME). Later accounts compress these into one continuous story, but contemporary research (using minutes, directories, and deeds) separates them. Black History Center+1PAGenWeb

  • 1834–36 – AMEZ congregation active; 26 members recorded. Black History Center

  • c.1853 – “Wesleyans” vs. “Bethelites” controversy splits the Black Methodist community. Black History Center

  • 1859–60 – St. Paul AME erects frame church on Halfmoon Hill (land tied to Quaker William A. Thomas). Black History CenterThe Express

  • Civil War era – Church functions as a documented Underground Railroad stop. WJAC

  • Sept. 8, 1885 – St. Paul leaders push the School Board toward integration; changes begin 1886–87. Black History Center

  • Feb. 20, 1910 – Fire destroys the frame church; brick rebuild completed within months. Black History Center