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the find are joists which are believed to have been part of the choir loft. During restoration efforts, a clay pipe broke in the basement and a steady stream began to run. In 2011, a project was undertaken to contain the free flowing water and a wooden water pipe was discovered on the site. The pipe was reburied to preserve it. Later excavation revealed that the owners of the swampy property filtered the encroaching through an uncovered system of sand boxes and piped it to the Grand Trunk
Railroad.
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267:(1798–1878) played a central role in the beginning of the Abyssinian. He transferred the original land to the Society in March 1831 and performed work on the interior of the building. Throughout the Northeast, he enjoyed a reputation as an unwavering spokesman against slavery and was a major participant in forming the Maine Anti-Slavery Society in 1834. He was self-employed as a hackman and, through his business, transported escaped slaves. Ruby also hosted
231:, it is Maine's oldest African-American church building, and the third oldest in the nation. Throughout the years, the Abyssinian was a place for worship and revivals, abolition and temperance meetings, speakers and concerts, the Female Benevolent Society, the Portland Union Anti-Slavery Society and negro conventions, and the black school in Portland from the mid-1840s through the mid-1850s. The building is the only
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located on
Sheridan Street in Portland. The proceeds of the sale of the building and furnishings went to the Congregational Conferences and Missionary Society of Maine. As stated in the act, any income gained after repayment of loans was to be entered into an Abyssinian Fund. Accurate expense records
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In April 2008, an archeological dig was conducted to obtain further information on the
Meeting House. Unearthed were 19th century toys, slate pencils, an inkwell, marbles, dishes, and bits of glass. While removing construction added during the 1920s, original wooden beams were uncovered. Included in
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newspaper which condemned the Second
Congregational Church in Portland for treating non-white members as second-class citizens. At the time, church pews were segregated and African-Americans were designated balcony seating or discouraged from attending services at all. Manuel, Ruby and three others
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were to be kept in the event of "erection, repair or alteration of any church building for colored people in the City of
Portland, or for the support of any church, or religious work among the people of that race in said city." Direction of the fund is at the discretion of the Missionary Society.
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The
Abyssinian housed an active congregation for 86 years, from 1831 to 1917. In 1842, some black parishioners from the Fourth Congregational Church in Portland merged with the Abyssinian Religious Society to form the Abyssinian Congregational Church and Society. It also was known as the Sumner
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In 1846, the location of the school for black children moved from the North School to the vestry of the
Abyssinian. In 1851, there were 75 scholars numbered in the school with an average attendance of 55 students. The school was discharged in 1856 and African-American students have attended
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agent, he used the building to host and organize anti-slavery speakers, Negro conventions and testimonies from runaway slaves. By 1845, he took on the role of principal of a segregated school for black children where it saw great improvements, including the addition of music education.
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in his home. In 1836, Ruby brought a suit against the
Society for non-payment on the mortgage he held and improvements he had made to the building. Ruby was a defendant in an 1837 case brought against him by Samuel W. Chase, minister the Abyssinian.
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In
September 2012, Greater Portland Landmarks named the Abyssianian as one of seven historic sites in peril due to lack of restoration funding. A $ 375,000 (~$ 415,998 in 2023) grant was established in 2021 for the building's restoration.
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The
Abyssinian was the cultural center for African-Americans in southern Maine. It was formed to meet the demand from African-Americans in Portland to have a place to worship. Christopher Christian Manuel, his brother-in-law
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After sitting vacant for six years, the Abyssinian was bought for historic preservation by the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian in 1998. It is the third oldest African-American meeting house in the United States after
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The church's congregation declined in size over the course of the 19th century, due in part to the growing number of churches in the city, and a gradual dispersal of the African-American population. In 1898, when the
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An act of the Maine Legislature, passed February 24, 1917, dissolved and sold the Abyssinian on July 28, 1917. Most of the parishioners became members of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, now known as the
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After the sale, the Abyssinian was used as a stable and an antique store, then developed into tenement apartments in 1924. It was seized for unpaid taxes by the City of Portland in 1991.
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was shipwrecked, it took with it seventeen male congregants, including two trustees. This was a severe blow to the congregation, which was thereafter reduced to minimal activity.
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Price, H.H.; Talbot, Gerald E. (2006). "Living and Working". Maine's Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People. Tilbury House. pp. 160-164.
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Price, H.H.; Talbot, Gerald E. (2006). "Living and Working". Maine's Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People. Tilbury House. pp. 145-146.
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Price, H.H.; Talbot, Gerald E. (2006). "Social Change". Maine's Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People. Tilbury House. pp. 254 and 271.
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petitioned the state of Maine for incorporation of the Abyssinian Religious Society in 1828. The building became the Abyssinian Congregational Church.
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Price, H.H.; Talbot, Gerald E. (2006). "Living and Working". Maine's Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People. Tilbury House. p. 146.
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Price, H.H.; Talbot, Gerald E. (2006). "Living and Working". Maine's Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People. Tilbury House. p. 147.
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Price, H.H.; Talbot, Gerald E. (2006). "Living and Working". Maine's Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People. Tilbury House. p. 164.
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https://archive.today/20130223000828/http://www.theforecaster.net/news/print/2012/06/26/internships-expand-support-abyssinian-restoration/128044
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Price, H.H.; Talbot, Gerald E. (2006). "Early History". Maine's Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People. Tilbury House. p. 43.
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Street Church and then the Newbury Street Church, as the name of the street changed.
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University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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Historically segregated African-American schools in the United States
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List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places
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Acts and Resolves Passed by the ... Legislature of the State of Maine
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https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/09/national/09religion.html?_r=0
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National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Maine
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is a historic church building at 73–75 Newbury Street, in the
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Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
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National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine
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http://www.mainepreservation.org/Endangered/02.shtml
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in 2006, the year the restoration began, and on the
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History of the National Register of Historic Places
821:Forecaster, Michael KelleyThe (February 24, 2021).
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617:Abyssinian Meeting House focus of regional mapping
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985:List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state
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361:National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
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1377:National Register of Historic Places portal
555:"NRHP nomination for Abyssinian Meeting House"
448:. abyme.org. February 15, 2008. Archived from
295:It is one of the few buildings to survive the
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802:. pressherald.com. September 20, 2012
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339:The Abyssinian Meeting House in 2009.
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863:"Abyssinian Restoration Project"
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865:. abyme.org. Archived from
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676:archive.archaeology.org
557:. National Park Service
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227:. Built 1828-1831 by
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858:, February 18, 2011
780:. February 18, 2019
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678:. August 30, 2011.
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118:
114:
93:
68:
58:
54:
49:
45:
41:
36:
29:
25:
16:
1191:South Dakota
1181:Rhode Island
1176:Pennsylvania
1156:North Dakota
871:. Retrieved
867:the original
853:
832:September 1,
830:. Retrieved
827:Press Herald
826:
816:
804:. Retrieved
794:
784:February 22,
782:. Retrieved
778:Press Herald
777:
766:
754:. Retrieved
744:
732:. Retrieved
722:
710:. Retrieved
706:the original
696:
686:February 22,
684:. Retrieved
675:
666:
650:
631:
612:
600:. Retrieved
594:
587:
571:
559:. Retrieved
549:
533:
517:
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485:
469:
457:. Retrieved
450:the original
419:
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317:
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306:
294:
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278:
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263:
257:
250:
212:
210:
15:
1433:Munjoy Hill
1312:Other areas
1272:Puerto Rico
1106:Mississippi
1021:Connecticut
712:October 21,
561:October 28,
265:Reuben Ruby
254:Reuben Ruby
217:Munjoy Hill
152: /
128:Coordinates
1402:Categories
1221:Washington
1141:New Mexico
1136:New Jersey
1011:California
873:January 4,
806:January 4,
756:January 4,
734:January 4,
602:January 4,
459:January 4,
397:References
140:70°14′55″W
137:43°39′44″N
1231:Wisconsin
1196:Tennessee
1101:Minnesota
1076:Louisiana
363:in 2007.
243:in 2006.
1387:Category
1216:Virginia
1166:Oklahoma
1146:New York
1121:Nebraska
1111:Missouri
1096:Michigan
1086:Maryland
1071:Kentucky
1051:Illinois
1026:Delaware
1016:Colorado
1006:Arkansas
680:Archived
639:Archived
620:Archived
375:See also
312:Portland
221:Portland
196:05001612
116:Location
1333:Related
1236:Wyoming
1211:Vermont
1116:Montana
1056:Indiana
1036:Georgia
1031:Florida
1001:Arizona
991:Alabama
184:Federal
1171:Oregon
1126:Nevada
1066:Kansas
1041:Hawaii
996:Alaska
932:Topics
658:
579:
541:
525:
509:
493:
477:
346:Boston
1303:Palau
1201:Texas
1081:Maine
1046:Idaho
453:(PDF)
446:(PDF)
225:Maine
173:Built
1257:Guam
1206:Utah
1161:Ohio
1061:Iowa
875:2015
834:2023
808:2015
786:2024
758:2015
736:2015
714:2012
688:2024
656:ISBN
604:2015
577:ISBN
563:2015
539:ISBN
523:ISBN
507:ISBN
491:ISBN
475:ISBN
461:2015
348:and
211:The
176:1828
165:Area
310:SS
191:No.
1404::
825:.
776:.
674:.
434:^
424:.
418:.
405:^
223:,
987::
917:e
910:t
903:v
877:.
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463:.
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