Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church and Mount Zion Cemetery, church building in New Jersey, United States of America
Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church is a church building in New Jersey with its current structure dating to 1887, built upon earlier foundations from the 1830s. The site includes a worship space, a fellowship hall, bathrooms, a kitchen, and a cemetery with roughly 200 graves separated from the church by railroad tracks.
The church was founded in 1799 when Quakers set aside land for a free Black community and formally organized in 1832 as part of the denomination founded by Richard Allen. It served as a station on the Underground Railroad, where people escaping slavery could hide using a trap door beneath the vestibule.
The church was established on land given by anti-slavery Quakers to a free Black community. It remains a place where worship, community bonds, and the memory of those who resisted slavery come together.
The site is now surrounded by residential houses, a school, and sports fields, so driving or using public transportation is recommended. The cemetery is accessible on foot across railroad tracks, though visitors should be cautious of train traffic in the area.
Hidden beneath the church vestibule is a trap door that once sheltered people fleeing slavery on their journey north. This concealed passage connects the building directly to one of the boldest chapters in the region's past.
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