Mother Bethel AME Church - Richard Allen and the AME founding

Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded by Richard Allen and officially organized in 1794; Allen is a central figure in the founding of the AME denomination. The church at this site has been continuously owned by the congregation since the early 19th century and includes Allen's burial site. Mother Bethel remains an active congregation and a documented center of African American religious and civic life in Philadelphia.