Galilean Temple

Galilean Temple. Location: 200 Block of North Washington Street. , By 1910, North Washington Street was a vital center of the African-American community in Rockville, with both sides of the street filled with African-American residences and businesses. It was the center of African-American cultural life and the Eureka Tabernacle Number 29 of the Order of the Galilean Fisherman was one of the most important sites., Chartered in 1912, the Order of the Galilean Fishermen allowed Rockville's African-American residents to work together to meet community needs. This benevolent society furnished health benefits and burial costs at a time when such insurance was commercially unavailable to African-Americans. Rockville's chapter featured some of the most prominent names in the Rockville's African-American community as officers and members., The temple was a center of African-American social life for decades, where dances, concerts, lectures and plays were hosted by Rockville's many African-American social organizations. They provided the community with land for publican housing and schools. In 1917, they bought a lot in Lincoln Park and established a cemetery, which is now owned and managed by the Mount Calvary Baptist Church., The Galilean Fisherman organized in Baltimore in 1856 to provide mutual aid among African-Americans, including insurance for injuries and illness, and expenses for lawsuits and funerals. Complementing churches as community institutions, these fraternal associations became places of support, entrepreneurship, service, and leadership.