Abyssinian Meeting House - Northeast African American Historic Places Map (sitios de interés)
Descripción del sitio
| 73 Newbury Street | Portland, ME 04101 | | ||
About: The Abyssinian Meeting House was the religious, educational and cultural center of Portland’s 19th century African American community. It is the earliest meetinghouse associated with a black congregation in Maine and is closely associated with local anti-slavery and abolitionist activity prior to and during the Civil War. Its members and preachers included former leaders of the Underground Railroad movement and outspoken advocates for the abolition of slavery. In the 1850s, the building housed a segregated public elementary school for black children. Meetings, concerts, dinners and entertainments made the Abyssinian Meeting House the center of community life for much of Portland’s African American population throughout the19th century.
In 2004, The City of Portland recognized the structure as historically significant and in 2006 it was included in the National Register of Historic Places. The Meeting House has since been named as a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Committee to Restore the Abyssinian, a private non-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is the sole owner of the Abyssinian Meeting House. With public and private support, the Committee plans to restore the meetinghouse to its documented 19th century appearance and to utilize the building for educational programs and exhibits of local history and African American culture.
 Abyssinian Meeting HousePhotos and text courtesy Committee to Restore the Abyssinian Meeting House |
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