My Community Guidebook - Coxsackie-Athens: 2022-2023

A church that defied
enslavement
and discrimination
MELANIE LEKOCEVIC/CAPITAL REGION INDEPENDENT MEDIA
A plaque outside the church designating it as a historical landmark.
MELANIE LEKOCEVIC/CAPITAL REGION INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Bethel AME Church on Mansion Street is the oldest surviving church building in Coxsackie and the oldest Black church in Greene County.
FILE PHOTO
Coxsackie’s faith community celebrated the unveiling of
a historical marker outside Bethel AME Church in June
2021.
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
COXSACKIE — A tiny gem of a church on
Mansion Street in Coxsackie can trace its roots
back to the enslavement period of the 1850s.
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church,
123 Mansion St., is the oldest surviving church
building in the village and was founded by
former enslaved people, historical records
show.
The church received a historical marker from
the William G. Pomeroy Foundation in 2021
honoring its place in local history.
The blue and yellow historical marker, which
can be seen in front of the church, reads:
“Bethel AME: This African Methodist Episcopal
congregation was established in 1853 by free
and formerly enslaved people of Coxsackie.
Church built 1856.”
Volunteer researchers looked into the history
of the church for the historical marker’s application
and learned the founders of the church
were John Clow, Abraham Clow, Benjamin
See CHURCH, page 38
MELANIE LEKOCEVIC/CAPITAL REGION INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Bethel AME Church, located at 123 Mansion St., has been a stalwart part of the Coxsackie community for
the past 166 years.
36 • Coxsackie-Athens Community Guidebook Coxsackie-Athens Community Guidebook • 37