Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

New Jersey Historic Trust Affiliated with the Department of Community Affairs

Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church

Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund
Historic Site Management
Grant Award: $50,000 (2020)
Grant Recipient: Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum
County: Somerset
Municipality: Montgomery Township

The African Methodist Episcopal Church grew out of the Free African Society (FAS), which Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and others established in Philadelphia in 1787. Elmer Hight, a local builder, constructed the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1899-1902 in Montgomery Township, Somerset County. The church’s period of significance is 1899-1958. Its importance derives from its architecture and historical associations. The church is a small, modest, one-room, rural Black church. It is noteworthy for its material integrity, including interior and exterior finishes, reflecting a very modest, vernacular interpretation of Black church architecture. Mount Zion AME Church represents the evolution of African American heritage in the Sourland region of central New Jersey. 

The Trust grant will help fund the preparation of a Master Site Plan for the future The Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum & Education Center.  

For more information, visit https://www.ssaamuseum.org/


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