Organ at Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church

Item

Tags

Joy Relationship and Community Building Music Resilience Celebration Faith Religiosity Play Relaxation Spirituals Rituals Time together Growth Piety Renewal Business Owner
Title
Organ at Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church
Description
Pump organ, pre-1917. Made by the Cornish Company in Washington, NJ, which ceased organ production around 1922. The organ was played at the First Baptist Church in Pennington..
The First Baptist Church of Pennington, NJ was founded in 1902, with members meeting initially in private homes prior to the dedication of the current church in 1904.

Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, rebuilt in 1899 in Skillman, NJ, hosted annual camp meetings from the late 1800s until the 1930s, drawing Black and white attendees across the greater Sourland Mountain region (Buck and Mills 2018). Camp meetings represented a broader national tradition of relaxed Christian expression and faith renewal, especially among the Methodists. The Skillman Camp Meetings served as religious revivals, musicianship and social gatherings—with sermons, singing, food, and fellowship—held each summer in July and August, usually on Sundays. Showing the importance of camp meeting customs, in 2024 the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum celebrated the 125th anniversary of Mt. Zion AME by hosting a living-history reenactment of a 1899 camp meeting — complete with period dress, live music, oral histories, costumed interpreter and historic exhibits.
Our History (First Baptist Church of Pennington)
Contributor
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum
Date Created
(c. 1900-1920)
Creator
Allen, Dallas Chester, descendant of the Smith and Blackwell families who were among the founding Black families of Pennington
Rights
This work is believed to be in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States. For more information, see http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/
Format
Physical Object
Extent
1 item
Spatial Coverage
Pennington, NJ
Publisher
SSAAM
Is Part Of
TBD by SSAAM
Subject
Organ (Musical instrument)
Faith
Religion
Piety
Joy--Religious aspects--Christianity
Spirituals (Songs)
Business enterprises
Item sets
Black Joy & Resilience
Media
Organ