Our story · black community history
A church moved with Kennett’s Black community
The African Union Church of New Garden began in Kennett Township and later carried its congregation’s history into Kennett Square Borough.
Chapter 01
A regional congregation formed in Kennett Township
On September 4, 1824, trustees of the African Union Church of New Garden purchased an acre beside the west branch of Red Clay Creek in southwestern Kennett Township. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway says a log church served worshippers from a broad area, including Kennett Square, Avondale, New Garden Township and communities across the Delaware line. The church’s life was regional from its beginning.
Chapter 02
The church held more than Sunday services
The Byway account describes the church as a place where Black children received education when access was limited, and where people gathered for social services, celebrations and community events. These details make the church legible as a sustaining institution, not only a stop in an Underground Railroad story. The account also says the original site included a cemetery; this page does not present it as an open visitor site.
Chapter 03
A congregation carried its history into the Borough
By the early 1900s, many members had moved closer to or into Kennett Square and chose to build in the Borough. In 1907, Civil War veteran Levi Plater sold an East Linden Street lot to the trustees. Services met temporarily in a blacksmith shop while the new building took shape; the old church’s stones and datestone were set in the new foundation before the sanctuary’s 1911 dedication.
Chapter 04
Keep both municipal histories in view
The first church was in Kennett Township; the successor sanctuary stands in Kennett Square Borough. Kennett Township’s own history says the Borough formed from the Township and incorporated in 1855. Keeping both names visible follows the congregation’s geography without collapsing two governments—or implying that historic religious sites are public attractions.
Keep exploring
Take this story further.
- Read the Borough and Township guide
See present-day institutional links with the municipal boundary stated clearly.
- Open the Byway’s source account
Follow the institution’s full account and its separate church and community references.
Research notesClaim checks and source trail
Each note records what the linked source supports. An index, institutional account, or brief page may leave parts of the story untold.
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway dates the African Union Church of New Garden trustees’ land purchase to September 4, 1824, beside Red Clay Creek in Kennett Township.
Qualified · 2026-10-03The Byway describes the original church as serving worshippers from Kennett Square, Avondale, New Garden Township and nearby Delaware communities.
Qualified · 2026-10-03The Byway says the church supported education for African-American children, social services and community gatherings.
Qualified · 2026-10-03The Byway reports that members moved closer to Kennett Square, that Levi Plater sold a Borough lot to trustees in 1907, and that services temporarily met in a blacksmith shop during construction.
Qualified · 2026-10-03The Byway says stones and the datestone from the original church were used in the new foundation and dates dedication of the Borough sanctuary to 1911.
Qualified · 2026-10-03Kennett Township’s history identifies Kennett Square Borough as formed from the Township and incorporated in 1855.
Verified · 2026-10-03