The "Members Of The Underground Railroad: The St. James AME Zion Church" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching for information on what was said to have been the oldest standing church in an upstate New York college town that happened to also be a stop of the Underground Railroad.  St. James AME Zion Church was built in 1833 and is believed to be the oldest AME Zion church structure in Ithaca, New York as well as the United States.  To top that off, it was said to have been an Underground Railroad station, since Ithaca was an important transfer point for fugitive slaves en route to Canada.  Many of the slaves, known at the time as freedom-seekers, impressed with the treatment they were given in the community, decided to stay in Ithaca and built homes in the area surrounding St. James.  The pastors of the church often preached about slavery and its abolition.  One such pastor, Rev. Thomas James, was known to have provided assistance to fugitive slaves.  At one point abolitionist Harriet Tubman played an important role in AME Zion church affairs.  Frederick Douglass also visited the church a few times in 1852 and Jermain Loguen, an active participant and likely conductor in the Underground Railroad was St. James' third minister.  After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, harboring freedom-seekers was illegal and keepers of safe houses were at great risk.  But, it is said that as many as 75,000 to 100,000 slaves fled the South during the early to mid-1800s and more than 100 of them found their way through the St. James AME Zion church.  Throughout the history of the church it evolved in many ways and has seen many uses, including as a job placement center for African-Americans and as a location were soldiers enlisted for the Civil War.  The church was a welcome home to many escaping slaves who found help in their quest for freedom.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Follow along tomorrow as I finish my investigation into our country's  Underground Railroad.

Built in 1836, St. James AME Zion in Ithaca served as an
Underground Railroad stop for fugitive slaves.
St. James was also one of the first AME Zion churches 
n the United States, as well as one of the oldest
churches in Ithaca. St. James AME Zion is located
on Cleveland Ave. in Ithaca, Tompkins County.