These founding families were the Sampson, Hall, Jones, Anderson, Samson, Dixon, and Young families. The congregation they formed was the direct ancestor of the present church Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church.
Although the congregation continued to grow, it lacked a place of worship and a minister. Arrangements were made for the construction of a small sanctuary which was completed in August 1842.
The church was placed on the circuit of the Rev. Owen T.B. Vickers of Cincinnati, a horseback reverend who visited every two weeks to hold a service. The first regular pastor at the church was Rev. Henry Atkinson.
Rev. M.M. Clark took over for Atkinson early in the church’s history. “A History and Biographical Cyclopedia of Butler County,” published in 1882, said of Clark, “[He was] one the best educated colored ministers of his day. He was pious and eloquent and his influence is still felt among this people.”
The church existed through the tumultuous years of the Antibellum period. Another county history recorded an event where local marshals entered the A.M.E. church seeking runaway slaves. The event nearly resulted in violence, though cooler heads prevailed after mediation by church member Alfred J. Anderson.
As the A.M.E. Church congregation continued to grow, pastor Rev. A.H.A. Jackson initiated the building of a new church edifice in 1868. The structure, located at the corner of Wood Street, now Pershing Avenue, and Monument Avenue, was not completed until 1877, under the oversight of Rev. Philip Tolliver, Jr.
By the time of the new building’s opening, the church had adopted the name Payne Chapel. The name was selected in honor of Daniel Payne, founder of the HBCU Wilberforce College in Wilberforce.
Throughout its early history Payne Chapel was connected with Bethel A.M.E. in Oxford, even sharing a pastor with the Oxford church. This arrangement persisted until 1880, during the administration of Rev. T. Knox, when the churches permanently separated.
Going all the way back to its beginnings, Payne Chapel was more than the place of worship for its families, it also served as the cultural center of their lives for generations. Meetings of Sunday school, choirs, and various service groups and organizations were routinely held at the church along with entertainment and social events, like the church’s annual fairs.
Over the years, Payne has also hosted conferences of religious organizations, as well as supporting religious students and visiting pastors. A declaration against lynching was made as part of the Thirty-Eighth Session of the North Ohio Conference of A.M.E. Churches held at Payne Chapel stating, “[our denomination] marshals every fiber of its Christian manhood and all its moral and intellectual strength against the burning, mutilating, or lynching of any human being of any race by mob violence.”
The conferences continued into the Civil Rights Era, with a 1966 meeting of the Dayton District Church League focusing on defining the role of the church not only in regards to religious education, but also in the context of the political and social action taking place across the nation.
After being purchased by the City of Hamilton, the church building was razed in 1953 and replaced by a city parking lot. Once again in search of a permanent home, the members of Payne Chapel fundraised enough to purchase the Grace Methodist Church, originally the German M.E. Church, building in 1956. The building was incorporated into the current sanctuary which was constructed adjacent to it in 1997.
Now entering its 185th Year, Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church continues to support a community of worshipers rooted in the foundation of its founding families and strengthened by the work and belief of its members over the decades since its formation.
Brad Spurlock is the manager of the Smith Library of Regional History and Cummins Local History Room, Lane Libraries. A certified archivist, Brad has over a decade of experience working with local history, maintaining archival collections and collaborating on community history projects.
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