Local African American Heritage
Celebrated in State Visitors Guide
The below information courtesy NJ Visitors Guide to African American Heritage and Attractions at (outside link) www.visitnj.org
Mt. Pisgah AME Church
17 Yorke Street, Salem
The first African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in New Jersey was formed in Salem in 1800 by several members of Salems Black community. They purchased land for their church, and in 1802 began worship services while the structure was being completed. The church burned in 1839 and the present edifice was built in 1878. The congregation was one of the first five AME churches in the nation.
Goodwin Sisters Home
47 Market Street, Salem
Elizabeth and Abigail Goodwin were Quaker abolitionists who established this home as an Underground Railroad station by 1838. Its history as a refuge for fugitive slaves is well documented through a diary maintained by the sisters nephew as well as by correspondence between Philadelphia railroad operative William Still and Abigail, whose work was described by one escaped slave as a perfect passion with her.