St. Stephen A.M.E. Church

Front inscription

In 1897, members of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, led by Rev. Washington P. Carolina (1864-1939), obtained 1/2 ac. of land at this site and founded St. Stephen AME Church. Tradition holds that members met beneath a brush arbor until 1899, when a church was built during the tenure of first pastor Rev. Jordan W. Whittaker (1853-1902). That church, said to have been destroyed in a storm, was replaced in 1902.

Reverse inscription

For more than a century, St. Stephen AME served African American residents of Georgetown’s West End from this location. Here, members worshipped and hosted public events like denominational meetings, public talks, and political rallies. A white, wood frame church was built in 1940 and brick-veneered in the 1950s. St. Stephen AME moved 1 mi. NW to Highmarket St. after that third church burned on October 23, 2011.