We Are Now an Official Underground Railroad Site
Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church has been officially added to the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, recognizing our 1826 sanctuary as a verified Underground Railroad site of national significance.
Why This Matters
Historic St. Paul holds an extraordinary place in Kentucky and American history:
- Our sanctuary hosted the 1897 funeral of Lewis Garrard Clarke, the freedom seeker whose life inspired the character George Harris in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
- After escaping enslavement in Madison County, Clarke became a national abolitionist lecturer and spoke at St. Paul in 1892.
- At his death, he received unprecedented honors: his body lay in state at the Main Street Auditorium (now the Lexington Opera House) — the first tribute of its kind ever given to a Black man in Kentucky.
- Built in 1826, our church served as an active Underground Railroad station, with a hidden upper room and a stairwell behind the pulpit where freedom seekers found refuge.
- To protect them further, the church purchased the adjacent city stray pen, helping to mask scents from tracking dogs.
- Oral tradition affirms that Lewis Clarke, Lewis Hayden, and others were aided through this network of protection and faith.
Today, Historic St. Paul remains one of Kentucky’s few surviving Underground Railroad–era sites, preserving tangible links to faith, resistance, and freedom.
Heritage Tours Begin February 2026
In celebration of this national recognition, Historic St. Paul will launch monthly Underground Railroad heritage tours beginning in February 2026.
These tours will interpret:
- The 1826 sanctuary
- Hidden architectural features, including the concealed upper room
- The stories of Lewis Garrard Clarke, Lewis Hayden, and other freedom seekers
- St. Paul’s longstanding legacy of liberation in Lexington and beyond
Details on tour dates, times, and registration will be shared soon.
Our Giving Tuesday Preservation Campaign now continues under the banner of our national designation within the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
Your generosity ensures that this sacred sanctuary continues to stand as a lasting witness to faith, courage, and freedom.
All gifts support the remaining costs of the sanctuary’s emergency stabilization and the next phase of restoration for our historic 1826 sanctuary.
Every contribution — large or small — helps safeguard this national treasure.
A Message from Our Pastor
“The birth of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 18th-century Philadelphia, we have been tasked with housing the homeless, educating those who desired to read and write, feeding those who could not feed themselves, and most importantly, introducing them to a God who liberates the captive and frees the prisoner. Historic St. Paul took up that mantle, and for decades in antebellum Lexington, our congregation cared for those who were yearning for liberation from enslavement. Within our sacred space, many enslaved men and women found a safe haven on their journey North to freedom. This acknowledgement is a signal moment in our history which we do not take lightly because it was not only the just thing to do, not only the honorable thing to do, it was the righteous thing to do. It was, and is, our sacred duty to care for those seeking justice and freedom, and we will not stop until all people see justice and are free.”
— Rev. Dr. Walter R. Henry, Pastor, Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church