Church History | Payne Chapel AME

The History of
PAYNE CHAPEL
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
in Canonsburg , PA

Payne Chapel traces its origins back to 1824 when a group of men and women began worshipping together in and around present day Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Several of the worshippers were former slaves of the Morgan family who called their plantation, Morganza.

Payne Chapel founders, Elias Praul and John Sluby had been brought to Morganza from New Jersey by Colonel George Morgan. Founders Boston Vactor and two of his children, Boston and Margaret, were among this group of enslaved people who lived at Morganza. Founder, John Durham, who was born in Canada, was also an early worshipper.

The group worshipped in private homes and in the 1840's in a log house in what is now Independence Township, PA. In 1856 they built a brick church on land that had been designated for a church and a cemetery by the Pennsylvania Legislature. That church was remodeled in 1874, demolished around 1898 and replaced by the current house of worship dedicated in 1902.

Grant Henderson was an artist who lived in Canonsburg during the late 1880's and early 1900's. This is his crayon drawing of the 1856 church. (Pastels were called crayon drawings in the early 1900s).

The Pittsburg AME Conference held a week long session at Payne Chapel in 1888 at the church in Henderson's drawing. There were about 125 ministers participating. Rev. C. Asbury of Washington, PA was the presiding elder. Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne, one of the most revered AME leaders is seated in the first row, seventh from the right.

PAYNE CHAPEL
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Canonsburg, PA

The church built in 1856 was remodeled in 1874 and finally replaced by the current building. Construction for this building was started in 1898. It was dedicated in 1902.

Photo taken Jan 2024