Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 19, 2019

1. Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church Marker

Inscription. At the center of the African American community in Great Falls for more than a century, the Union Bethel AME Church began holding regular services in the first fire station in 1890. The following year African American residents gathered with white supporters to lay the cornerstone of their new building. Built on swampy ground on donated land, the building was hard to maintain, and by 1915 the wooden church had fallen into disrepair. Substantial contributions from its forty-member congregation as well as donations from sympathetic whites—gathered in a door-to-door campaign conducted by the church’s women—allowed the congregation to rebuild. Completed in 1917, the new Gothic style edifice incorporated the cornerstone of the original structure. Like many African American churches, the wood-frame, brick-veneer building served as both a religious and cultural center. Black secular organizations, like the Dunbar Art and Study Club, were rooted in the church, while pastors promoted the church as a source of wholesome entertainment for Great Falls’ black youth—akin to the YMCA for whites. As importantly, the church offered institutional

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support for its members, many of whom took leading roles in the fight against segregation in Great Falls. With opening access to other churches and institutions, membership in Union Bethel declined, and the church lost its resident minister in the 1970s. By 2000, however, a full-time minister once again served the church, whose interracial congregation draws members from both long-time Great Falls residents and personnel from nearby Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Erected by The Montana National Register Sign Program.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Architecture • Education • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and the Montana National Register Sign Program series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1890.

Location. 47° 29.976′ N, 111° 17.467′ W. Marker is in Great Falls, Montana, in Cascade County. It is on 5th Avenue South near 9th Street South, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 916 5th Avenue South, Great Falls

Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 19, 2019

2. Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and Marker

MT 59405, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically entral Montana in Russell Country. It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Masonic Temple (approx. 0.4 miles away); Lemon Boarding House (approx. half a mile away); Dubbs Block (approx. half a mile away); Great Falls Central Business Historic District (approx. half a mile away); F.W. Woolworth Building (approx. half a mile away); Bus Depot and Garage (approx. 0.6 miles away); S.H. Kress and Company (approx. 0.6 miles away); First United Methodist Church Parsonage (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Great Falls.

Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 19, 2019

3. Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 24, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 456 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 24, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.