Mason Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church
Side A:
In spite of small numbers and being welcomed by the mostly white congregation of First Methodist Episcopal Church, African Americans in Findlay in the 1880s wanted to express their faith in ways that best reflected their freedoms and traditions. By the mid-1880s, the congregation was meeting in members' homes and the Odd Fellows Hall, but began fund raising to build their own church in 1885. The congregation was admitted to the North Ohio Conference of the Third Episcopal District of the African Methodist Church in 1885, one of the first churches to be so admitted. The building on Liberty Street was well underway by the end of 1887 on a lot donated by Judge D. J. Cory. The original twenty foot by forty foot building cost $2,000 and immediately became a focal point for religion and social events for Findlay's African American community.
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Side B:
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The first minister of the church was the Reverend Thomas A. Woodson, the great-grandson of Sally Hemings. The third minister was Reverend John H. Mason, under whose administration the church was finally completed and opened with services beginning on December 12, 1892. The church was named for Reverend Mason. While undergoing some physical transitions and additions, Mason Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church continues to serve as a center for religious, social, and civic life for people of many religious and cultural backgrounds.
God Our Father
Christ Our Redeemer
Man Our Brother
-African Methodist Episcopal Church Motto
Marker is on Liberty Street, on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
