The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Coxsackie, N.Y. is a church that goes back before the time of the Civil War. The church is located at 123 Mansion St, Coxsackie, NY 12051. It is just a few blocks west of the Reed Street National Historic District, a fairly intact neighborhood of mid-19th Century homes and businesses.
The New York State Historical Marker explains that “This African Methodist Episcopal Congregation was established in 1853 by free & formerly enslaved people of Coxsackie. Church built 1856.” The marker was placed in 2021.
While you might think that the “formerly enslaved” people who built the church were escaped slaves from the South, at least some were held by the Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley. They were only freed under New York State law in the early years of the 1800s. The Coxsackie Record of Free-Born Slaves showed that 46 people in Coxsackie were enslavers in the first quarter of the 19th Century. So, while the community did shelter runaways in the 1850s, there were also people born into slavery in Coxsackie. Many of the founders of the church have Dutch names, which were typically assigned to them by their white owners. So it is likely that those families with names like “Bronk” were owned by the Dutch family named Bronk. This name is familiar because it was later Anglicized into the name of a borough, The Bronx.
At least one Black Bronk served in the 8th United States Colored Troops and is buried on the Bronk estate nearby. Many white enlistees served in the 120th New York Regiment.
The church has been designated a landmark.
This is not a museum. It is a functioning house of worship. It is only open to visit on Sundays.
While there have been some add-ons attached over the years, the main church remains as it has for 170 years.
If you are not from New York, you might wonder why you are familiar with this little town of Coxsackie with only 8,000 people. It is where a virus was isolated and became known as Coxsackie Virus.
All color photos were taken by Pat Young unless otherwise noted. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.
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