Hosanna Meeting House
Upper Oxford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Founded by free Blacks who had settled in this area, it was first known as the "African Meeting House." Formally organized in 1843 as an African Union Methodist Protestant church. A station stop on the Underground Railroad, its many visitors included Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Built by free Black families in the Chester County countryside, this meeting house grew from an informal "African Meeting House" into a formally organized African Union Methodist Protestant congregation in 1843. It doubled as a station on the Underground Railroad, sheltering freedom-seekers on their way north. Among those who spoke or passed through were Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.
Why it matters
It stands as evidence that free African American communities built and defended their own institutions of faith and freedom decades before emancipation.
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Related people
- · Frederick Douglass
- · Sojourner Truth
Themes & tags
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