Duck Creek Hundred in Smyrna in Kent County, Delaware — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Richard Allen
"This land which we have watered with our tears and our blood, is now our mother country, and we are well satisfied to stay where wisdom abounds and the gospel is free." Richard Allen
Above: Richard Allen speaks at the first meeting of the American Society of Free Persons of Color at Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia, 1830.
Below: Ricahrd Allen and Absalom Jones load a body onto a horse drawn cart for burial during the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, 1793.
Center: Richard Allen, 1760 - 1831
Founder of Bethel AME Church. On his right is the first Bethel AME Church, an old blacksmith shop purchased in 1794, and on his left is the facade of present day Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Left: Sarah Bass Allen, 1764 - 1849
Wife of Richard Allen and founder of Daughters of the Conference.
Right: Jarena Lee, 1783 - 1864
First woman preacher in the Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Above: Richard Allen buys his and his brother's freedom from Stokeley Sturgis for 2,000 Continental dollars and bushels of corn, wheat and salt in 1783. Out the window is present
this page online
Below: Richard Allen delivers salt to General George Washington at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War.
Erected 2025 by Michael Rosato, muralist.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1830.
Location. 39° 17.967′ N, 75° 36.271′ W. Marker is in Smyrna, Delaware, in Kent County. It is in Duck Creek Hundred. It is on South Main Street south of West South Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 111 South Main Street, 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
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Smyrna Opera House and Old Town Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); The Barracks (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); School District No. 5 (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Gray Box Chateau (approx. 0.2 miles away); Commodore Jacob Jones (approx. 0.2 miles away); In Memory of Victor D. Ennis (approx. 0.2 miles away); Citizens' Hose Company No. 1. Inc. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Thomas D. Clayton School (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Smyrna.
Also see . . . Many don't know the abolitionist and AME Church founder honored in this new Delaware mural. March 18, 2025 article from Delaware News-Journal (Submitted on May 25, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.)
Credits. This page was last revised on May 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 25, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 192 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 25, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
