Designated as a National Historic Site in 1974, the African Meeting House is the oldest surviving African American church in the U.S. The First African Baptist Congregation bought the land and hired Asher Benjamin to build the church. Dedicated in 1806, the meeting house was also used as a school. Known as the “Black Faneuil Hall” during the Abolitionist period, William Lloyd Garrison founded his New England Anti-Slavery Society there. In 1899, the building was sold to the Anshe Libowitz congregation and it was used as a synagogue. In 1972, the building was acquired by the Museum of African American History. With federal funding, the building was restored to its earlier appearance of 1855. It reopened in 2011.
