Duck Creek Hundred in Smyrna in Kent County, Delaware — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Mount Olive Holiness Pentecostal Church

Photographed by Pete Skillman, November 20, 2024

1. Mount Olive Holiness Pentecostal Church Marker

Inscription. Built in 1876 by local members of Centennial Methodist Episcopal Church, the first African American congregation to worship in the building, the two-story, three bay frame church with a gabled end would serve as a house of worship until the late 1910s. In 1918, the building was bought and used by St. Johns Masonic Lodge No. 7 until 1935, when it would be purchased by Mount Olive Holiness Pentecostal Church. Organized in 1930 by Reverend Ancle A. Manns. Mount Olive Holiness congregation has worshiped at this location since 1935. In 1980, the church was included in the Smyrna Historic District and added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Erected 2023 by Delaware Public Archives. (Marker Number KC-137.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Delaware Public Archives, and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1876.

Location. 39° 18.231′ N, 75° 36.423′ W. Marker is in Smyrna,

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Delaware, in Kent County. It is in Duck Creek Hundred. It is on East North Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 109 E North St, Smyrna DE 19977, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Delaware’s Southern New Castle County. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic,

on the Delmarva Peninsula,

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,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The John Cummins Mansion (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Creighton-Jones or Cummins-Stockley House (about 800 feet away); Site of Green Pottery (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Delaware House (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Gray Box Chateau (approx. 0.2 miles away); Home of Allen McLane (approx. ¼ mile away); The Barracks (approx. ¼ mile away); Site of

Mount Olive Holiness Pentecostal Church Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Pete Skillman, November 20, 2024

2. Mount Olive Holiness Pentecostal Church Marker - wide view

Old Asbury Methodist Church (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Smyrna.

Also see . . . Smyrna Historic District - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form.

At its intersection with North Street is the original Centennial Church Building (.96), built in 1876 by volunteer labor. It is a frame structure two stories high with a three-bay gable end facade with partial return box cornices. The building served as a church until 1918 when the congregation moved to a vacant church they had purchased on nearby Mt. Vernon Street. Until recently, it was a lodge and today it once again is a functioning black church organized as the Mt. Olive Holiness Pentecostal.

(Submitted on November 20, 2024, by Pete Skillman of Wilmington, Delaware.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 20, 2024, by Pete Skillman of Wilmington, Delaware. This page has been viewed 304 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 20, 2024, by Pete Skillman of Wilmington, Delaware.