A National Historic Recognition
Historic St. Paul Is an Official Network to Freedom Site
In late 2025, Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church was added to the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The listing recognizes Historic St. Paul as a site with a verifiable connection to resistance to enslavement through escape and flight.
The National Recognition
The National Park Service's Network to Freedom includes historic sites, programs, and research facilities with verifiable connections to the Underground Railroad. Historic St. Paul's designation honors the congregation's place within the broader history of faith, resistance, self-determination, and the pursuit of freedom.
On February 19, 2026, the Kentucky Senate adopted Senate Resolution 101, recognizing February 21, 2026, as Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Day in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Why This History Matters
Historic St. Paul holds an extraordinary place in Kentucky and American history:
- The congregation was established in 1820, and the surviving historic brick sanctuary was constructed in 1826.
- Freedom seeker and abolitionist lecturer Lewis Garrard Clarke, widely recognized as an inspiration for the character George Harris in Uncle Tom's Cabin, spoke at St. Paul in 1892.
- Clarke's funeral was held at St. Paul in December 1897. Before the funeral, his body lay in state at Lexington's City Auditorium, now the Lexington Opera House, by order of Governor William O'Connell Bradley. Historical accounts describe this as the first public honor of its kind given to a Black man in Kentucky.
- The 1826 sanctuary retains concealed architectural features, including a stairway behind the pulpit, a hidden upper room, and interior pathways above the sanctuary. Church oral tradition associates these spaces with sheltering freedom seekers.
- In 1862, the congregation acquired an adjoining parcel that included part of Lexington's former city stray pen. Church oral tradition holds that the odors of confined animals may have helped conceal the movement of freedom seekers from pursuers and tracking dogs.
- Lewis Hayden worked at Lexington's Phoenix Hotel while enslaved. Historic St. Paul trustee Henry Britton is documented there later as a barber. Their connection to the same workplace is historically significant, but no surviving record presently proves that they worked there together, knew one another, or collaborated in Hayden's 1844 escape.
- Lewis Garrard Clarke's later relationship with St. Paul is documented: he spoke at the church in 1892, and his funeral was held there in December 1897. No evidence currently identifies Historic St. Paul as assisting Clarke's earlier journeys to help members of his family escape.
Historical interpretation: The Network to Freedom designation confirms the site's verifiable connection to Underground Railroad history. Statements specifically attributed to church oral tradition are identified as such so that documented evidence, surviving architecture, historical interpretation, and inherited community memory remain clear.
Three-Page Underground Railroad Research Exhibit
This illustrated research exhibit expands the history presented above while carefully distinguishing documented records, surviving physical features, church oral tradition, and historical interpretation.
1. Hidden Architecture, Living Memory
Photographs document the concealed upper room, narrow interior stairs, brick-lined pathways above the sanctuary, a doorway below the hidden area, and access toward the bell tower. The precise original purpose and construction date of every feature cannot be established from appearance alone; church oral tradition associates these spaces with refuge and concealment.
2. Ministers, Missions, and Formal Affiliation
The exhibit places Historic St. Paul within a wider African Methodist network while preserving the distinction between local independence and denominational affiliation. The congregation governed its own property and local affairs until formally affiliating with the A.M.E. Church in 1865.
3. Parallel Paths. Shared Networks.
The final page traces overlapping Black Methodist, abolitionist, family, workplace, and community networks involving Gilson Berry, Rev. John Mifflin Brown, Calvin Fairbank, Delia Webster, the Hayden family, Henry Britton, and Lewis Garrard Clarke without claiming undocumented meetings or direct collaboration.
Evidence key used in the exhibit:
- Documented record: deeds, newspapers, directories, church records, and physical features.
- Church oral tradition: congregational memory concerning refuge and concealment.
- Historical interpretation: conclusions drawn from overlapping evidence, dates, locations, and networks.
Display the PDF inside this page
Preserving the 1826 Sanctuary
Preservation requires more than honoring the past; it requires investing in its future. Every contribution helps Historic St. Paul address critical repairs, protect historic architectural features, maintain a safe and welcoming place of worship, and preserve an important part of Lexington's history.
Gifts support the continued preservation, maintenance, restoration, and rehabilitation of the 1826 sanctuary and the church's historic campus.
A Message from Our Pastor
“Since 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 acknowledgment 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
Visit, Learn, and Support
Learn more about Historic St. Paul's full history, schedule a heritage tour, share this story, and support the continuing preservation of the 1826 sanctuary.
Verification and Further Reading
- National Park Service: National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
- National Park Service: Explore Network to Freedom Listings
- Kentucky Senate Resolution 101 (2026)
- Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church: Three-Page Underground Railroad Research Exhibit
- Historic St. Paul A.M.E. Church: Full History Page
