Queen Chapel A.M.E. Church

Front: The congregation of Queen Chapel can trace its roots to May 1865 when A.M.E. missionaries Rev. R.H. Cain, Rev. James H.A. Johnson, and James A. Handy arrived on Hilton Head Island. They visited the Freedmen’s town of Mitchelville and preached a sermon before departing for Charleston. Missionaries like Cain, Johnson, and Handy represented the first official A.M.E. presence in S.C. since 1822. Reverse: In 1865 Charleston born A.M.E. Bishop D.A. Payne returned to S.C. and brought with him a group of missionaries. When they arrived in Hilton Head they met with Rev. James Lynch, who had come to S.C. in 1863 to perform missionary work among the Freedmen. The A.M.E. denomination experienced rapid growth after the Civil War and Queen Chapel was among the early churches founded.