The land the church sits on was purchased for $100 from George and Sarah Chambers on August 22, 1839, and given to the congregation by Augusta and Rebecca Green on November 7, 1840. In the original log structure, there were two rooms, the pews were upright pieces with slabs of board laid across for seats. Kerosene lamps were used for lighting, and a central fireplace was used for heating. It was used in this condition until 1872, when it was remodeled into the brick structure that is standing today.In 1882 Reverend James Peyton paid off the mortgage in full, and in recognition, the church was renamed St. James A.M.E. Church. An offshoot of St. James was created under the name John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church in 1845, located on West Liberty Street near Water Street.

St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1811 when a group of African Americans in Chambersburg formed a congregation and were formally recognized as the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1812, the congregation bought a log church on North Main Street that had been vacated by the local Catholic congregation and had it moved to the current location on South Main Street.

St. James AME Church

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This story map was created by faculty and students at Shippensburg University and includes sites that were central to Black Communities in Central PA.

This tour is one segment of a larger project intended to delve deeply into issues of segregation in south central Pennsylvania. The Landscape of Segregation Project is a collaborative effort to provide a well-researched, informative, and thought-provoking interpretation regarding the existence and practice of segregation and racial discrimination in five south central Pennsylvania counties: Adams, Franklin, Cumberland, Lancaster, and York. In the interest of time and distance, not all sites researched during the project are included in the tour. For inspiration and guidance with our project the group used the historical The Negro Travelers' Green Book by Victor Hugo Green published from 1936 to 1967. During the era of segregation throughout the United States these publications were used to identify safe places where African Americans were welcome for business. The variety of locations listed in the Green Book consisted of restaurants, barber shops, beauty salons, hotels, drugstores and many other types of businesses to help make travel more comfortable for African Americans. As our group explored this incredible resource it was surprising to all of us that segregation was deeply rooted not only in the southern regions of the United States, but expanded more broadly into northern states where segregation is not spoken about or taught in schools. Seeing places such as the town of Gettysburg, the single most influential location where blood was spilt in regards to ending racism and slavery, have establishments where African Americans were separated in schools, theaters, and cemeteries was appalling to discover. These were places and topics our group wanted to bring awareness to and help continue the conversations and efforts to end racial inequality throughout the United States. We wish you a thoughtful, reflective, and meaningful tour.

This is the start point for the Landscape of Segregation driving tour of south central Pennsylvania.  This tour was compiled by graduate students in Shippensburg University's Master's Degree in Applied History program.  The tour visits sites of relevance to the African American community in the early to mid 20th century. It focuses on everyday places in the lives of African Americans to provide insight into the latent and patent segregation and racial discrimination they may have encountered as they went about their daily business in Pennsylvania society.

These sites are intended to spark conversation on potentially difficult topics as viewed from today's perspective.  This study into the past is intended to cultivate thoughtful reflection on how society can improve as it moves forward.  


Landscape of Segregation Tour Start Point

The original structure was built in 1840 on Breckenridge Street and was a wooden frame building. St. Paul’s remained integral to Gettysburg’s African American community throughout the Civil War era into the twentieth century. Pastor Stanley said “Our church has always been involved with justice and equality, not just of African-American people, but all people.” As time progressed, the congregation outgrew the church’s original wooden structure. In 1878, the church trustees raised funds to build a new church on the grounds. The congregation laid the cornerstone in 1884. Construction of this building was completed in 1917 and is the current church in which St. Paul’s congregation meets. Despite a dwindling congregation, St. Paul’s has remained a staple of the African American Community in Gettysburg to the modern day.

Gettysburg’s St. Paul’s AME Zion Church’s congregation dates to 1838. For a period of time, they met in the home of famed abolitionist, Thaddeus Stevens. During this period, members of the congregation established the Slave Refugee Society in 1840. The congregation later built a log cabin church and moved to this structure when it was completed in 1917.

St. Paul's AME Church

The Lincoln Cemetery is located in the 3rd ward between South Washington Street and Long Lane. This ward was designated specifically for African Americans living in the town. For many years, restrictive covenants and other measures added to property deeds limited opportunities for Black families to live in other parts of the town. Many of the soldiers of that time were denied burial in the National Cemetery a few blocks away because of segregation policies. In 1906, the Lincoln Cemetery merged with the other Black cemetery in town, which was located near the AME Zion Church. The church no longer could afford to maintain their cemetery and appealed to the Sons of GoodWill for help. This led them to the decision to disinter and reinter all the bodies in the Good Will Cemetery, which now became the only African American cemetery in Gettysburg.Because the town of Gettysburg wanted the land that AME Zion’s cemetery was located on, they pushed for the consolidation of the two cemeteries. In 1916, after the Sons of Good Will ceased to exist, due to the death of most of the members, some of the land of Good Will Cemetery sat was sold to Lincoln Lodge 145, an African American Elks Lodge. The members of this organization became the cemetery’s caretaker, especially in 1920 after all of the lots were sold and entrusted to their care. This is how it came to be known as the Lincoln Cemetery. The Lincoln Lodge was responsible for the cemetery until around 1934, when its last member became incapable of caring for it. After that, the care of the cemetery fell into hands of concerned citizens and members of the community.

The cemetery was established in 1867 by the Sons of Good Will and was designated as a burial site for African American residents. Lincoln cemetery holds about thirty members of the United States Colored Troops.

Lincoln Cemetery

Smallwood SchoolThe Smallwood School was a segregated African American school, educating grades one through six. It was built in 1892 on West Pershing Avenue, was renovated in 1931, and ultimately closed in 1954 as a result of the Brown versus Board of Education Supreme Court decision that eliminated school segregation.  All that remains on the site of Smallwood School is a Pennsylvania State Historical marker; a wooden table and bench from the school are on display in the York City School District offices on North Pershing Avenue in York. Smallwood School was named after James Smallwood, a teacher and the first African American employee of the York City School District. Smallwood school had six classrooms, an assembly room, and a gymnasium. After its renovation in 1931, it had 284 students enrolled across the six grades. That averages to 47 students per classroom with one teacher. A day in the life of a Smallwood student would have been quite crowded. In the Pennsylvania Negro Business Directory, 1910: Industrial and Material Growth of Negroes of Pennsylvania, the authors praise the work of teachers and administrators such as Miss Ella J. Robinson, Miss. Mabel F. Robinson, and Miss Daisy A. Butler who, “brought the Smallwood Grammar School to the highest possible standard and year after year send many colored students to the High School.” William Penn High SchoolThe high school that the Smallwood students would have attended was the William Penn Senior High School located at 101 West College Avenue in York. William Penn High School, though racially integrated by the 1940s, was still a compelling indicator of the nature of race relations during the Jim Crow period into the 1940s and 50s, even in the Northern state of Pennsylvania. The original high school was built in 1927 and was demolished and rebuilt in 2006 using the original façade. Unlike the Smallwood School, William Penn High School was integrated with a Black student population of about 4 percent as of 1949. A day in the life of an African American student at William Penn would have likely been isolated. There was little socializing between races, primarily because of segregation at the places high schoolers would socialize after school. One such business was Bury’s Famous Hamburger Restaurant, formerly located at 132 North George Street in York. Bury’s Restaurant was a high school yearbook sponsor that refused to serve African American patrons. In 1941, Bury’s had made headlines when it refused to serve two Black members of Gene Krupa’s band; Gene Krupa was best known as the highly talented drummer for Benny Goodman’s famous orchestra. Krupa and his band had just finished a performance at the Valencia Ballroom and had walked to the adjacent Bury’s Restaurant. Upon entering, the restaurant staff indicated they would not serve the two Blacks in the group. Krupa, upon hearing the staff’s refusal to serve his companions, was outraged and flew into a tirade directed at the restaurant’s staff and ownership. A police officer stated that the incident was nearing the “rumpus” stage when he arrested Krupa for disorderly conduct. In an interview with the local York Gazette and Daily newspaper, Krupa stated, “when we get down south where they have ‘Jim Crow’ laws [we] expect these things, but not in Pennsylvania.” Even celebrities couldn’t sway the steadfast segregation that existed in York.

This tour stop details one primary means through which segregation throughout south central Pennsylvania was systemized and legitimized, that is, the public school system.  Many communities, like York, had segregated grammar schools that consolidated both African American students and teachers.  As discovered in York, crowded conditions prevailed in these schools.  Finances often forced communities such as York to integrate their high schools; they couldn't afford to finance separate buildings for smaller numbers of African American high school students.

Smallwood School / William Penn High School

Thaddeus S. Henry was a well-known Black barber in Lancaster, PA. By 1873, Thaddeus' barber shop occupied the first floor of a three-story brick building at 15 East King Street, the present site of Fulton Bank; the site is marked with a historical marker about Henry. Thaddeus Henry’s uncle, Thomas Simmons, taught him the trade and brought him to Lancaster in 1831, where Simmons bought a shop in town. When his uncle decided to move back to Philadelphia, Henry’s friends bought the barber shop for him so he could stay and continue his work. His services were sought by the most prominent men of the day, among them President Buchanan and Hon. Thaddeus Stevens. At one point, Henry was claimed to be the oldest barber still working his trade in Pennsylvania in a Lancaster newspaper. He first saw Thaddeus Stevens when he came to Lancaster from Gettysburg in the late 30’s for an anti-Masonic speech. Stevens went into the barber shop, which was crowded, he picked up a razor and shaved himself. In 1842 Stevens moved to Lancaster and became a regular customer.

A necessary service in the life of most male members of society, regardless of race,  was a haircut, and sometimes a shave.  This stop on the tour recognizes that there were some equalizing factors that helped integrate African Americans into the fabric of society as a whole.  Thaddeus Henry's Barbershop was one such business that capitalized on the need for this basic service.

Thaddeus S. Henry Barber Shop

William G. Payne was a well-known African-American restaurateur and caterer who was born a slave in Virginia and moved to Lancaster from Philadelphia. In Lancaster, William began a restaurant and catering business at 27 East Orange Street.  As his reputation spread, William was hired as Caterer and Steward for the Hamilton Club, a position he managed for about five years. During the year 1906, William leased the property at 135 East Grant Street and opened the Lancaster Kitchen &amp; Caterers’ Supply Company, which he owned and operated from 1906 to about 1914 when he retired from the catering business. The Lancaster Kitchen and Caterers’ Supply Co. was highlighted in the 1910 Pennsylvania Negro Business Directory where it is stated that William served many of the wealthy throughout the country. William also made an impact on the community when he helped found the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This tour stop highlights the important contributions of African Americans to the economy of a community.  As an established businessman with a reputation for hard work, William Payne contributed to the quality of life across the spectrum of society in Lancaster.  William Payne's and Thaddeus Henry's successes were  important indicators of the economic advances being made by African Americans in the region.  

Lancaster Kitchen and Caterers Supply Company

Ruby Bohee, the first secretary of Crispus Attucks, incorporated many programs that celebrated African American heritage. It opened to provide social services and programs to the African American community at a time when finding a daycare was hard due to segregation. Because of Bohee, the center's success began to spread, making it possible for other locations to open; the York, PA center opened in 1931. Today the Crispus Attucks Community Center continues to provide service to the community and seeks to improve the lives of those in their community. Because many institutions were segregated, there was a void in the secular African American community for services that brought neighborhoods together. The Crispus Attucks Center was an important effort undertaken to fill that void.

Established in 1929 and named after Crispus Attucks, a man of African descent who was killed in the Boston Massacre in 1770. The Crispus Attucks Community Center was the first recreation center to integrate African Americans in Lancaster County. It opened in 1929 to provide social services and programs to the African American community.

Crispus Attucks Center

Prince Hall/Letort Star Masonic Lodge was originally constructed as a one story AME church in 1835 on North Street in Carlisle. It was sold to the Prince Hall African American Freemasons who preserved this piece of African American history. By around 1835, a one-story African American church sat on the lot owned by Cyrus Richardson in Carlisle. The two story building that currently sits on the land was built in the subsequent years and was used as the “North Street Hall” by the local community. In the early 1900’s, the building was sold to be used as an AME church and renovated to its current form with stained glass windows and tower structure. In 1951, the building became owned by a Masonic Lodge. The building was used as exclusively a lodge for a time, but then began to be used as a multipurpose building in addition to a masonic lodge. The first and second floors were used for different purposes, with the first floor being used for a business and the second floor occupied by a tenant. The building is still standing and is a registered historic building of Cumberland County.

In many ways, life as an African American person mirrored society in general.  This tour stop acknowledges a basic human desire for a place of fellowship with people who share common values.  This site, in its function as both an AME church and an African American Masonic Lodge, fulfilled multiple roles.   As an AME church, it met the needs of the community similar to the other churches on the tour.  As a masonic lodge, it provided a place to foment friendship, cooperation, and camaraderie for African American men at a time when other social networks in society were closed to them. 

Prince Hall/Letort Star Masonic Lodge

Locust Grove Cemetery is a unique piece of history for Shippensburg’s African American Community. The cemetery was originally created for free and enslaved African Americans.  Locust Grove Cemetery was created in 1842 by the donation of land from Edward Shippen, and was the only public cemetery in the Shippensburg area open to African Americans up until the late 20th century. Originally there was an AME church built on the land but in the subsequent years, it became used exclusively as a cemetery. The cemetery is home to the remains of 26 veterans of the Civil War and home to the remains of 47 veterans total. The 47 veterans participated in every major conflict between the Civil War and Vietnam. The cemetery became somewhat dilapidated after decades with little maintenance and after the defacement of some gravestones by vandals, which necessitated a need for a thorough restoration of the area. The Locust Grove Cemetery Restoration Project was conducted by the Shippensburg Applied History Program in coordination with the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee and the Shippensburg Historical Society, in addition to other grassroots supporters and groups. Conclusion We sincerely hope you had a meaningful tour of the sites selected for interpretation. As a reminder, the tour sites were certainly not all-inclusive, and many other sites exist that would also warrant attention and further study. We are hopeful that the conversations started as the result of this tour do not end with this tour, and that you will use your interest in this history to help further society's understanding of the difficult topic of segregation and race relations in America.

This is the last stop on the Landscape of Segregation Tour.  The linkage of AME churches with African American cemeteries is not coincidental; it highlights the "cradle to grave" discrimination that pervaded society during the time period researched.  Locust Grove Cemetery adds important relevancy to our project, as it has been forever linked with Shippensburg University's Applied History graduate program.  Its proximity to our campus keeps the principles for which we are studying at the forefront: we must continue to illuminate the difficulties of the past to make the future brighter.

Landscape of African American History in Central Pennsylvania

St. James AME Church

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources