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St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church Records
Title
St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church Records
Object Name
Church
Scope & Content
These are church records of St. John AME Church (Huntsville, AL). The records were contributed by congregational members and administrators and scanned as a digital collection. The congregation maintains the original records.
Scanned in affiliation with the "Huntsville in Retrospect" project (LSTA Grant 2020).
Extent of Description
12 digital folders (series), (as of 7/6/2022)
Admin/Biographical History
St. John AME Church (Huntsville, AL) was started by Dr. William Hooper Councill and held its first worship services in a barbershop on West Holmes Street, beginning in 1885. Its first church building was constructed in 1900 at 217 Church Street. In 1971, under the guidance of Reverend Samuel S. Hereford, the congregation moved to its present location at 229 Church Street. The congregation will soon be moving to its third church at 4600 Blues Spring Rd, for which they broke ground in 2021.
The AME church, originally formed in Pennsylvania, is the first independent Protestant denomination founded by people of color. After the Civil War, the AME church established churches in the South to help black Americans receive the opportunities proffered by freedom. It valued education and worked closely with black colleges. In Huntsville, AL, black educators like Dr. Councill and other community leaders came together to form St. John AME Church.
St. John's first church was constructed during a time black churches and businesses lined Church Street, in downtown Huntsville. The church has seen many changes to that area, particularly starting in the 1950s and 1960s when urban renewal projects and population growth led many of those churches and businesses to move to other Huntsville neighborhoods. St. John is one of the few remaining spaces in the present day that connects the area to what it once was.
Reference PDFs
Reference PDFs contain compressed digital versions of the original records. Because compression resized many images, the resulting images might appear blurred if zoomed in too far. For high quality, uncompressed digital versions of the records, contact us.
Reference PDFs contain compressed digital versions of the original records. Because compression resized many images, the resulting images might appear blurred if zoomed in too far. For high quality, uncompressed digital versions of the records, contact us.
