Documenting Chester County’s Black Churches and Cemeteries

At the close of the 19th Century, Chester County could boast that nearly 40 African Methodist churches of four denominations spread throughout the county, from its population centers to its rural townships. Formed at different times in different areas of the country, the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Union American Methodist Episcopal, and African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant churches were at their greatest extent. By 1920, their number had dwindled dramatically, and by the 1970s many had vanished altogether.