Abyssinian Meeting House Hosts Archaeological Finds & Update at USM

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The Abyssinian Meeting House, 73 Newbury Street, on the East End of Portland.

You are invited to attend a free informational meeting on The Abyssinian Meeting House on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 6:00 pm at the University of Southern Maine, the Wishcamper Center, Room 102, 24 Bedford Street. The event is in honor of Black History Month.

A panel of those involved will discuss the archaeological findings and the status of the Abyssinian Meeting House restoration. The professionals who were responsible for the restoration of the exterior of the 170 year old building will discuss their significant findings and representatives will discuss the next steps needed to restore the interior of this historic building. If you are new to the area and want to learn more or just want to get caught up on the latest, this is an excellent opportunity to do that.

“The Committee to Restore the Abyssinian was and still is the embodiment of Maine’s Black History, said Deborah Cummings Khadraul, founder of the Board of the Abyssinian. “We are here for our ancestors who built this building when they were told they did not belong. We are here to today to tell their stories. And so, in spite of the odds and brick by brick,” the Abyssinian will tell OUR story,” she wrote in a press release.

Amazingly, the AMH survived the Great Fire of 1866 when so many other nearby buildings did not.

In 1828, the Abyssinian Meeting House(“AMH”) was constructed by free blacks who came together to seek opportunity and refuge. It is the 3rd oldest African American Meeting House in the United States. The AMH is a designated city of Portland historic landmark and in 2006 it achieved listing in the National Register of HIstoric Places and in 2007 it was registered by the National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network Freedom as the first site listed in Maine.

For more information, please call 207 780-5321. For more background information herein, please go to posts dated February 8, 2010 and March 2, 2018,