Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Home of the oldest black congregation in Miami, Greater Bethel AME Church was organized in 1896, several months before the city was incorporated. Construction of this Mediterranean Revival style building began in 1927 and was completed in 1942. It is ...

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church - Key West

The original church building was first established in 1878, in the 700 block of Duval Street. The Ku Klux Klan claimed responsibility for burning it down in 1922, saying it was tired of the noise of church services.

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Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church - Punta Gorda

"Uncle Dan" Smith, a local African American religious leader, constructed a thatch-roofed hut church on this site in 1886. Several white families, including Colonel Albert W. Gilchrist, who later became governor of Florida, were in attendance at the first service. ...

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church Community Cemetery

Originally known as the White Lily Cemetery, the Mount Olive Courtenay Community Cemetery was on the grounds adjacent to the Bethel AME Church, one of the first black churches on Merritt Island. Grave sites date from 1919.

Information provided by Florida ...

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church - Kissimmee

This one-story Masonry Vernacular church was constructed in 1916. The name of Lawrence Silas, a prosperous black cattleman in Florida's range country, appears on the cornerstone. With his father's estate gone, Lawrence Silas rebuilt the family fortune and eventually owned ...

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church - St. Petersburg

Built in 1922, the Bethel AME Church is Gothic Revival in style and located in the Jamestown neighborhood northwest of St. Petersburg's downtown core. It is the first and oldest predominantly African American church and denomination in the city, playing ...

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church - Palatka

The residents of the community of Newtown organized the Bethel AME church in 1866. This Romanesque Revival style building was constructed by the congregation circa 1908-1912.

Information provided by Florida Department of State.

Photo courtesy of Fish Ministries.

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

In 1839 a group of black Detroit citizens formed the Colored Methodist Society, which became the core of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The group held meetings in a hall which was donated by the Detroit Common Council. The ...

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

It is believed that parishioners of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church were worshiping in a private residence on North Street by 1859. The church eventually moved to a site on Church Street to accommodate the growing congregation. On March 2, ...