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Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a Georgia historical marker in in Atlanta, Fulton County, dedicated 2024.

At at Big Bethel A.M.E Church (220 Auburn Ave NE), in Atlanta

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Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is the oldest African-American congregation in Atlanta. Organized by enslaved congregants of Union Church in 1847, the church joined the AME denomination in 1866. As a community center, Big Bethel hosted political gatherings, benevolent societies, and housed Gate City School, a public school for African Americans. Morris Brown College was founded at Big Bethel. Architect John Anderson Lankford and builder Alexander Hamilton constructed the existing building following a 1923 fire. To help pay for construction, members wrote and produced Heaven Bound, a religious folk drama that has been performed annually since 1930. The play’s popularity introduced Black theater to White audiences nationwide and sustained the church through the Great Depression. Big Bethel is a landmark in Atlanta’s “Sweet Auburn” district, recognized by the steeple’s “Jesus Saves” sign.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1842 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1845 · Georgia (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1856 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1874 · Military Operations of the Atlanta Campaign. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
Historical map (Stanford Libraries)

Georgia, 1845, covering the location of Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Georgia, 1845, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

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On the National Register nearby

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Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.