Wesley AME Zion Church (1844) Burlington, NJ

This church was organized in 1844, making it Burlington’s second oldest Black congregation, Burlington County’s second oldest Black congregation, Burlington County’s oldest A.M.E. Zion church, and the oldest A.M.E. Zion church in southern New Jersey.  Given the proximity of New Jersey to the two cities where the two oldest Black denominations originated-Philadelphia (the A.M.E. Church in 1816) and New York City (the A.M.E. Zion Church in 1821), some of the earliest churches of both denominations are in New Jersey. The congregation has been at the present site since 1864. The initial edifice was replaced in 1898 with a building that was destroyed by fire in 1922. The present structure dates from that year.

(SOURCE:  WESLEY AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH)