Mt. Pisgah African Methodist aka Snow Hill Church in Lawnside (Camden County) – The church is located in Lawnside, which was the first independent Black operated community north of the Mason Dixon line. It was founded in 1792 and officially incorporated in 1808.
It is considered the oldest African American church in New Jersey and was a very active Underground Railroad stop. Mt. Pisgah is home to the first female AME preacher, Jarena Lee, who is said to be buried there. She was born in 1783.
In 1811, she married the pastor of an AME church in Lawnside named Joseph Lee. In the book “Parallel Communities” by Dennis Rizzo, there are documents that show that Harriet Tubman heard Lee speaking during one of her travel sermons and that became the impetus for her to get involved in the Underground Railroad.
