Abyssinian Meeting House - Portland, ME
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 43° 39.733 W 070° 14.906
19T E 399341 N 4835114
The Abyssinian Meeting House served as an African-American church and community center. In the 19th century it was a major site on the Underground Railroad. It is located at 73-75 Newberry Street, Portland, ME.
Waymark Code: WM10ZMX
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 07/18/2019
Views: 1
The Abyssinian Meeting House is the third oldest remaining African American meeting house in the United States. It was the center of social and political life for Portland’s African American community throughout the 19th century. The building served as a church, a school, a concert hall, and a place for community dinners. Its members included abolitionists leaders and activists in the Underground Railroad movement. The Meeting House was closed in 1917, converted to tenement apartments in 1924, and abandoned before being taken over by the City of Portland. In 1998, the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian bought the property and began restoration.
A sign on the building recounts the history of the Abyssinian Meeting House. It is inscribed:
The Abyssinian Meeting House
Restoration Project
The Abyssinian Meeting House is the third oldest standing African American meeting house in the United States, built in 1828 to serve Portland's established community of free black residents. The Meeting House was one of the few structures in the area to survive the Great Portland Fire of 1866.
The Abyssinian Meeting House was home to the Fourth Congregational Church of Portland, the city's leading black congregation, throughout the 19th century. The building also housed a segregated public school for black children, hosted lectures and rallies in support of the abolition of slavery, and held social events and entertainments for the Greater Portland community.
The Abyssinian Meeting House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Park Service Underground Railroad "Network to freedom" Site and a designated local landmark.
The sign concludes with technical details about the restoration.
A smaller sign to the right is inscribed:
Construction of the Abyssinian Meeting House
is being supported in part by a grant administered by
the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
The Abyssinian Meeting House, constructed in 1829,
is a historic African-American church and meeting
house which has been recognized for its role in the
Underground Railroad. Other contributors to the
siding project include, the Maine Historic Preservation
Commission, the City of Portland, Maine, the
Davis Family Foundation, and Contributions
from supporters of this project.