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Location:
325 Broad St, Salisbury, MD 21801
Site Background:
Built in 1838, the Chipman Center is the oldest standing African-American church on Delmarva. It occupies the site of a former open meadow where slaves gathered for worship services conducted by Methodist circuit riders. In 1837 five local freedmen began holding services in a small red-pine slab building on the property of William Williams. Funds were raised to purchase the property and build a meeting house. The property was purchased in 1838. A plain and long one-story structure was built for religious services and a day school. The church was identified as the African Methodist Church and informally known as the “Hill Church” or “Church on the Hill.”
The building was later expanded, incorporated in 1876, and named the John Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. It was later combined with another church and formed the present Wesley Temple United Methodist Church. The property was abandoned as a church and purchased by educators Charles and Jeanette Chipman. They later deeded the property to the Newton Association.
Learn more and browse the Chipman Center’s online exhibits at https://www.chipmancenter.org/
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