The Historical and Educational
Lodge-Hall Preservatory Inc.
(H.E.L.P. Inc.)
Mt. Zion AME Church
Mount Zion AME Church
Located at 172 Garwin Road, Woolwich Township, New Jersey.
The edifice, housing one of the oldest AME congregations in New Jersey -- it dates back to the early 1800s -- was constructed in 1834. Evidence for its association with the Underground Railroad is strong.
First, the community in which it was situated -- Swedesboro/Woolwich (Small Gloucester) -- has been identified as being part of the Underground Railroad network in New Jersey.
Second, Enslaveds, suggesting they would have been receptive to the idea of assisting other Enslaveds who had absconded. There are indeed members of the Mount Zion AME Church today whose forebears were fugitive Enslaveds who settled in Small Gloucester.
Third, and perhaps of greatest importance, there is primary-source documentation indicating that two members of the congregation -- Pompey Lewis and Jubilee Sharper -- were UGRR operatives.
