Northwest Corner of Pearl and 18th Streets - Allen Chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church - formerly 2017 18th Street

“Glad tidings to you all, and may God bless, “ would be the type of greeting one would receive from James Clay, that is Reverend James Clay--Hannibal, Missouri born--who came to Boulder in 1884 as the first pastor of the Allen Chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church that stood on this site from 1884 until 1983. He and his wife first Iived at 802 Marine Street, which you can see from the third photo above was the edge of the town at the time. The historic Columbia Cemetery would be up the hill behind the house long before the cemetery boasted its beautiful fence.

The church first met for a few months above a café at what is now Pearl and Broadway and then at a few other locations until Alexander James, Oscar White, Henry Stevens Henry Wallace, and Lewis Sheets—the homes of most of these gentlemen you have visited—purchased from James Maxwell for $500 the lots on which the church stood.

Those gentlemen with help from their families and some other Black families built the church themselves. Charter members included John Wesley McVey and Charles Moseley, whose homes you have visited or will also visit. They were a close-knit group, and their families’ lives centered around their beloved chapel. James was pastor for only two years when the congregation boasted 22 members.

He went on to make his living as a calciminer [or whitewasher], carpet cleaner, and doing other home maintenances. His business was located on east Valley Road, now called Arapahoe Avenue. He was a good friend of O. T. Jackson, and watched over Jackson’s resort at what is now 55th and Arapahoe after it closed, that is until it burned down in 1912. James died in 1927 at age 78 following a series of strokes that left him partially paralyzed.

In 1955, the church needed some updating. The Miles Bradfield Lumber Company donated the materials and Boulder architect James Hunter, who had designed our Municipal Building a few years prior, donated his architectural services. However, as Boulder’s Black population dwindled, the congregation sold the building and moved on to join what had become the larger Second Baptist Church on 19th Street near Canyon Boulevard [Stop 16]. The AME congregation was proud that its church had been one of the oldest churches in Boulder, and one of the first Black churches in the state.

This concludes the tour. Historic Boulder, Inc. thanks you for taking it!