Our History

Little Liberia & the Connecticut Freedom Trail

Named for A.M.E. Zion Bishop Alexander Walters, our church grew out of Little Liberia, one of Bridgeport's earliest free Black communities.

1850 map of Bridgeport's South End showing streets, the shoreline, and buildings labeled North African Church and South African Church
Bridgeport's South End in 1850, with the "North African" and "South African" churches of Little Liberia marked. Map by Collins & Clark, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

  1. Early 1800s

    Little Liberia by the harbor

    Free Black residents, freedom seekers from the South, and Native American families built a self-governing village by Bridgeport Harbor. Historians count it as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

  2. 1835

    Our church is organized

    The community organized its first church in 1835. A brownstone cornerstone dated 1835 still marks that beginning.

  3. 1882

    Home on Broad & Gregory

    In 1882 the congregation made its home at the corner of Broad and Gregory Streets in the South End.

  4. Connecticut Freedom Trail

    A landmark of Black history

    Walters Memorial is a site on the Connecticut Freedom Trail, one of the last surviving landmarks of Little Liberia.

  5. Today

    Faith that still gathers

    Under Rev. Elvin Clayton, our congregation worships, studies, and serves Bridgeport's South End, sharing the story of Little Liberia with new generations.

Sources: Connecticut Freedom Trail · Bridgeport History Center · Mary & Eliza Freeman Center

Little Liberia

The places that still stand.

Little Liberia was a free community of Black and Native American residents along Bridgeport Harbor, first known as Ethiope. Two of its landmarks still stand in the South End: our church and the Mary & Eliza Freeman Houses. Both are sites on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.

Today

More history: Mary & Eliza Freeman Center. Street map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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