Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church
Tradition holds that early members of Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church worshipped under a brush arbor. The church formally organized by the 1880s. Congregants built their first house of worship at this site around 1895 on land previously owned by the Tolliver family. Brown Chapel was initially part of the A.M.E. Church’s Columbia District and later joined the Lancaster District.
Brown Chapel A.M.E. was founded to serve African American residents of the Arthurtown community. Members built a larger church at this site in 1914. It was replaced in 1958 by a brick building that still stands. In 1959 Brown Chapel acquired nearby Arthurtown Elementary School and used it as an education building and daycare center. It no longer stands. The current education building dates to 1981 and the church to 2005.
Where it stands. 808 Barnes St., Columbia, Columbia