Our History

As the area pioneer leaders called home, and the territory where critical moments in United Methodist history took place, Eastern Pennsylvania is arguably the most historic in the entire connection. Here Francis Asbury preached his first sermon in the colonies in 1771. Here Jacob Albright found Christ, began preaching, and organized the first class of what would become the Evangelical Church. Here Phillip William Otterbein and Martin Boehm clasped hands, proclaiming Wir sind Bruder!, giving birth to the United Brethren in Christ. Here in 1794 African-Americans founded Zoar, the oldest black congregation in the United Methodist Church, and here the Delaware Conference, the first to allow full ordination and appointment of black preachers within the ME church, was established in 1864. Here Richard Allen became the first black preacher ordained in America, by Bishop Asbury, and here in 1816 Allen founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.

The history of our conference is not dead and past, but can continue to inspire and guide us, as we remember and celebrate the faithful servants of Christ who have gone before.

From The Annals of Eastern Pennsylvania, Journal of the Historical Society and the Commission on Archives and History of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. Joseph F. DiPaolo, Editor

Historic St. George's UMC Library & Archive

Sign outside of St. George's UMC. This is American's oldest Methodist Church Edifice, having been in continuous use since 1769. Our collection comprises books and original source documents dating from the late 1700s and serves as the archive for the United Methodist Churches of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. We welcome scholars and writers interested in our library for research. Contact the church office at 215-925-7788 or e-mail us at mona@historicstgeorges.org for more information.

Our archives contain many record books from closed churches in the Conference, as well as correspondence and diaries of early ministers. Learn more...

15 United Methodist Historic Sites in the Eastern PA Conference

Boehm's Chapel

See the list of our historic sites below, and use the links to find out more information about them. Historic sites are established by the vote of an Annual, Central or Jurisdictional Conference in session. Each is registered by and receives a plaque from the General Commission on Archives and History They are numbered by the order of their registration.The six names in bold, red text are also among the 46 UM Heritage Landmarks designated by General Conference. Those that lack numbers are Heritage Landmarks that were designated before the inauguration of the numbered Historic Sites program.