Campbell A.M.E. CHURCH - Historic Marker

The historic Campbell Chapel, A.M.E., built in 1853. It was originally Bluffton Methodist Episcopal Church organized by whites. The church’s 216 members in 1861 included 181 African Americans who were likely enslaved to its white congregates. The church caught fire during the Civil War but survived. By 1874, local freed people began worshiping there as African Methodist Episcopal A.M.E. Church, eventually known as Campbell Chapel.

Campbell Chapel was part of a wave of reconstruction era AME Churches, organized to serve Southern African Americans, spirituality, and educational needs. In 1875 it was one of the two churches in the AME Bluffton Mission, which had 190 members. (It has) Since (been) altered several times (but) the building was first purchased by nine founding trustees for $500, Campbell Chapel congregants worshiped here up until 2004.