| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Saint John's African Methodist Episcopal Church |
| Title: | Saint John's African Methodist Episcopal Church Photographs |
| Dates: | 1950-1960 |
| Extent: | 0.10 linear feet (1 container) |
| Abstract: | Saint John's African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first African American church established in Cleveland, Ohio. Chartered by the African Methodist Episcopal Society in 1836, services were first held in members' homes. The first church building was dedicated in 1850. In 1908, after several moves to various church buildings in the nineteenth century, the congregation erected a new church building at East 40th Street and Central Avenue, where it remains. The collection consists of group portraits and views of groups and activities of members of Saint John's African Methodist Episcopal Church of Cleveland, Ohio. Included are photographs of choirs, Sunday School classes, and church boards. |
| PG Number | PG 223 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
Historical sketch courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
St. John's African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was the first African American church, and the only permanent one, to be established in Cleveland, Ohio, during the antebellum period. The original charter was issued in 1836 to the African Methodist Episcopal Society, a group of six former slaves who had been recruited in 1830 by Father William Paul Quinn, Western Section Missionary for the new African American denomination. As the group grew, services moved from members' homes to the Apollo Hall on the third floor in Merwin Square. The first church building was located at the southwest corner of Bolivar Street and Prospect Avenue and was dedicated as the Bolivar Street AME Church on January 6, 1850. The church moved to Ohio Street (presently part of Carnegie Avenue) in 1863, where the name changed to the Ohio Street AME Church, then to Erie (East 9th) Street in 1878, when the name became St. John's AME Church. In 1908, the congregation erected a new church at the cost of $55,000, a neoclassical structure designed by John F. Aring and the firm of Badgley & Nicklas, at East 40th and Central Avenue (2261 East 40th), where it stood in 2009.
The congregation of St. John's AME grew from a small band of former slaves to include representatives of every strata of the city's black community. With increasing racial tensions after World War I, church membership grew markedly, reaching a high of about 3,200 in the years after World War II. In 1974, the church was recognized as a Cleveland Historical Landmark by the Cleveland Landmarks Commission and, in 1982, it was placed on the National Register of Historical Places. A $1 million renovation was launched in 2005 under the direction of Robert P. Madison International to upgrade the physical, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical infrastructure of the venerable institution. The Cleveland Restoration Society, the region's largest nonprofit preservation organization, recognized the renovation project at St. John's AME with the Preservation Award for sacred landmark preservation.
Since its inception, St. John's AME has been an influential institution and a place of refuge for Cleveland's African American community. The church has consistently supported civil rights and its location within the Central community made it a recreational and social center from the 1920s onward. The social outreach programs of the church included an after-school program, a summer camp, and a senior daycare center. It also hosted a health fair, "Let's Focus on Health," connecting the community with representatives from heart and diabetes associations. The congregation has sponsored an annual community dinner and clothing giveaway, and a Sunday morning breakfast for residents of the Central neighborhood. As of 2009, Reverend Dr. Taylor T. Thompson served as the pastor of the congregation.
The Saint John's African Methodist Episcopal Church Photographs, ca. 1950-1960, consist of group portraits and views of groups and activities of members of Saint John's African Methodist Episcopal Church of Cleveland, Ohio. Included are photographs of choirs, Sunday School classes, and church boards. The collection includes 48 black and white photographs that measure 8 x 10 inches and smaller.
This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of the African American community and religion in the mid twentieth century.
None.
Related MaterialOther photographs related to Saint John's African Methodist Episcopal Church can be found in PG 268 Allen E. Cole Photographs and the WRHS Panorama Collection.
The researcher should also consult MS 4204 Dovie Davis Sweet Papers.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 223 Saint John's African Methodist Episcopal Church Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of Josephus Hicks in 1978.
Saint John's African Methodist Episcopal Church Photographs ca. 1950-1960 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Church boards ca. 1950-1960 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Choirs ca. 1950-1960 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Clubs and special groups ca. 1950-1960 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Office staff ca. 1955 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Sunday School classes ca. 1950-1960 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Early church records ca. 1960 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Unidentified group portraits ca. 1950-1960 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Unidentified group portraits, children ca. 1950-1960 | |||||||||