Established in 1837, Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is Portsmouth, Ohio’s oldest Black religious society and one of the oldest AME congregations in Appalachia Ohio. Founded in the wake of the city’s 1831 mass expulsion of Black residents, the church’s formation marked a moment of community resilience and reorganization. It signaled that Portsmouth’s African American residents—free-born and formerly enslaved—had returned, reestablished themselves, and laid claim to space, faith, and freedom.
The congregation’s origins trace back to worship services held in the “Old Wheeler Academy” on the southwest corner of Fourth and Market Streets. From this modest beginning under the leadership of “Father Charlston,” Allen Chapel would grow into a spiritual and social anchor for Portsmouth’s Black community. Over time, as the city expanded and Black neighborhoods shifted northeastward, so too did the location of Allen Chapel—always remaining near the heart of community life of what became known as the North End.
In the decades before the Civil War, members of Allen Chapel played a central role in Portsmouth’s Underground Railroad network. The Ohio River, separating free Ohio from slaveholding Kentucky, was a perilous boundary for freedom seekers escaping bondage. Portsmouth’s Black Methodists served as conductors, station operators, and guides for those crossing the “American Jordan.”
Among the most prominent conductors who were members and lay leaders of Allen Chapel were John J. and Martha Minor, John Q. and Mary Weaver, and Joseph and Martha Love. These families exemplified Black Methodists whose faith was inseparable from action.
- John J. and Martha Minor. John J. Minor was a Portsmouth barber and longtime member of Allen Chapel who gave a first-hand interview to Underground Railroad historian Wilbur H. Siebert in 1894. Minor described “the regular line” of safe houses running from Portsmouth to the Pee Pee Settlement in Pike County, with the first stop north of Portsmouth at Huston Hollow, a free Black settlement near Lucasville. His wife, Martha Minor, another longtime member of Allen Chapel, assisted in these efforts and was present during a tragic recapture of freedom seekers in 1853—a story confirmed in local newspaper reports.
- John Q. and Mary Weaver. John Q. Weaver was also a barber and AME elder. The Weavers were born free in North Carolina and Massachusetts, respectively, and moved to Portsmouth in 1858. With his wife Mary, the Weavers used their home on Chillicothe Street as a hiding place. They would shelter freedom seekers on the second floor of their residence before they were forwarded to points further north in Pike County. John Q. Weaver would go on to become the first Black elected official in Scioto County, serving on the Portsmouth School Board in the 1870s.
- Joseph and Martha Love. Joseph Love was born free in Ross County, and after moving to Scioto County, operated a station in Huston Hollow with Dan Lucas, another African American resident of the community. Joseph later served in the 27th U.S. Colored Infantry during the Civil War and participated in the liberation of Wilmington, North Carolina, before returning to Portsmouth to raise a family and serve as a teamster and volunteer fireman. His funeral was held at Allen Chapel and he is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery with military honors.
While much of the Underground Railroad’s history has focused on men, Black Methodist women played a crucial role in the operations of Allen Chapel’s network. Women like Martha Minor, Mary Weaver, and Martha Love were key figures, providing food, shelter, and medical care to freedom seekers. Their homes were not only safe havens but also vital centers of communication, where plans were made, messages were passed, and escape routes were organized.
The involvement of these women in Underground Railroad efforts was deeply connected to their faith. As members of the AME Church, they lived out the principles of Richard Allen’s ministry—that faith required action, that one could not be neutral in the face of injustice, and that aiding freedom seekers was both a moral and religious duty. The AME Church’s message was clear: God intends for all people to be free. This belief infused every act of shelter, every night of hiding, and every journey northward.
Beyond its Underground Railroad activities, the church became a center of Black life in Portsmouth, offering educational opportunities, organizing for political rights, and supporting the community through times of hardship. The legacy of those who risked everything to help freedom seekers lives on in the church’s continued dedication to justice and service.
Today, Allen Chapel AME Church remains an enduring symbol of resistance, faith, and the ongoing struggle for equality. The stories of its members—people who took real risks to ensure that others could live free—serve as a powerful reminder of the role that faith communities played in shaping the fight for freedom in Appalachian Ohio. Its members not only built a church—they helped build America’s network to freedom.
This site is part of the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tour, funded by an ARC POWER Grant and developed by the Lawrence Economic Development Corp.
