Hosanna Meeting House
| Hosanna Meeting House | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alternative names | Hosanna Lincoln University, Pennsylvania 19352 |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 39°48′40″N 75°55′31″W / 39.8112°N 75.9253°W |
| Completed | 1845 |
| Owner | Lincoln University |
| Known for | Historic African American church and station on the Underground Railroad |
Hosanna Meeting House, also known as the Hosanna A.U.M.P. Church, is a historic African American church near
Architecture
The Hosanna Meeting House is a small, one-room, one-story chapel constructed of red brick with a plain exterior, a shingled gable roof, and wooden front steps up to a wraparound porch. A hidden crawlspace beneath the floorboards once served as a hiding place for fugitive slaves.[4] A small historic cemetery adjacent to the church was established in 1854 as one of Chester County's first marked grave sites for Black decedents.[5] Along with other former congregants and veterans of various wars, seventeen African American veterans of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment are buried in the cemetery.[6][2]
History
Organized in 1843 and built by 1845, the Hosanna Meeting House is the last remaining structure from the village of Hinsonville, a free Black community formed prior to the American Civil War. Affiliated with the A.U.M.P. Church, Hosanna was a station on the Underground Railroad and hosted Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and other visitors.[1][2] To honor Hosanna's significance to the free Black community, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission placed a marker by Old U.S. Route 1 (Baltimore Pike) where the roadway passes the meeting house, dedicating the marker on May 9, 1992.[3]
As of 2015, the congregation consisted of fewer than twenty people. The church has remained a place of worship for Lincoln University's students and staff.[5][2]
See also
References
- ^ a b Shultz, Elizabeth (March 26, 2014). "Hosanna Church: The Last Building in Hinsonville". Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Commission Blog. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Weidener, Susan (May 14, 1992). "Plaque for a Church that Sheltered Slaves". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 261. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-89271-092-8.
- Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- ^ a b Nielsen, Euell A. (November 2, 2015). "Hosanna African Union Methodist Protestant Church (1843– )". BlackPast.org. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
- ^ "Briefly Noted – Marker Dedication". The News Journal. May 7, 1992. p. 86. Retrieved November 6, 2022.