Downtown Brooklyn in Kings County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
The Old Bridge Street Church
In January 1863, an historic three-day celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation occurred here at the Bridge Street African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church. On Wednesday night, New Years Eve known as "watch night" in the church's tradition of annually awaiting the start of a New Year hundreds of black and white Brooklyn citizens attended the service, in anticipation of Abraham Lincoln's promise to sign the proclamation on New Year's Day.
On Thursday, January 1, 1863, the Bridge Street Church remained open all day. As word spread that President Lincoln had signed the Proclamation freeing four million African American men, women, and children people came hourly into the chapel to express their joy in meetings, speeches, prayers, and songs and their concern about the ongoing Civil War. On Friday, January 2, 1863, a formal program of speakers at the Bridge Street Church included African American historian William Wells Brown and abolitionist Theodore Tilton.
The Bridge Street Church served prominently in the anti-slavery movement as an abolitionist meeting place and a "station" of the Underground Railroad,
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In February 1863, the nation's leading civil rights activist Frederick Douglass spoke at the Bridge Street Church, delivering a stirring speech on the need for black soldiers in the Union ranks. Douglass used the Bridge Street address a few weeks later to launch his historic Men of Color, To Arms campaign which recruited 200,000 African American soldiers for the Union cause.
In October 1865, Harriet Tubman, the nation's most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, visited the church and was welcomed by an immense congregation fully half consisting of whites, reported the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and she was hailed for her war heroics as a Union scout and nurse. At the time
The Bridge Street Church's origins extend back to 1776 when black and white members met at the Sand Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Racial tensions grew over time; and in 1818, African American members withdrew and formed the African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church on High Street, before moving to Bridge Street in 1854. Today the Bridge Street AWME Church is located at 277 Stuyvesant Avenue.
(The idea to place this plaque was born out of the vision and activist struggle of the Rev. Dr. Herbert D. Dwight, Sr. Chairman of the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (DBNA)'s Center for the Study of History, Culture and Social Movements and the National Presiding Minister of the House of the Lord Churches, February 12, 2007)
Erected 2007 by Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance's Center for the Study of History, Culture and Social Movements.
Topics and series. This historical marker
Photographed by Jack DePalma, September 17, 2025
3. The Old Bridge Street Church
The building dates back to 1847 and was the first independent Black church in Brooklyn. It was also a stop on the Underground Railroad and has been designated a Historic Landmark since November 24, 1981.
Location. 40° 41.661′ N, 73° 59.11′ W. Marker is in Brooklyn, New York, in Kings County. It is in Downtown Brooklyn. It is on Bridge Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 311 Bridge St, Brooklyn NY 11201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in New York City and on Long Island. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Wunsch Hall, Tandon School of Engineering (a few steps from this marker); New York University Tandon School of Engineering
Photographed by Jack DePalma, September 17, 2025
4. The Bridge Street Church Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 12, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,111 times since then and 163 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 12, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3, 4. submitted on September 17, 2025, by Jack DePalma of Brooklyn,NY, New York.
