Going to Church

Moving to Hartford meant major changes to the lives of African Americans who came from Southern states. Still, there were aspects of life in the American South that many of them kept even after they had arrived in the city. One such aspect was that of their church communities. Of course, there had been African American churches in Hartford for many decades.

Indeed, AME Zion, Union Baptist Church, and Shiloh Baptist churches had histories and established presences in the city by the time of World War I. At the same time, African Americans from the South often sought a specific type of church community. As a result, smaller, independent churches began popping up throughout the city. These included Ebenezer Baptist Church, Bethel AME, Friendship Baptist Church, Primitive Baptist Church, and Mount Olive Baptist Church.