Possibly the first in Delaware County, PA, the founders of Thornbury AME Church organized themselves prior to 1834, in Thornbury Township near Cheyney, Pennsylvania. The minutes of the 19th Annual Conference of the Philadelphia District of the A.M.E. Church, held in Philadelphia, May 24, 1834 indicated that these early members in the Society, called a “class (which by definition in the AME Book of Discipline is twelve persons),” were under the Bucks and Chester County District and numbered 59. They met in private homes and received periodic visits by a circuit preacher since there was no building.

During the intense period of struggle against slavery in the United States, there was a growing energy among blacks in Philadelphia and the surrounding area toward economic and educational self-help. To this end, our founding fathers believed, “...that common schools, Sunday schools, and temperance societies are of the highest importance to all people; but more especially to us as a people.”

It was then, in 1840 that the members of Thornbury bought a building for their assembly to carry out this mission. They purchased the first schoolhouse in Central District of Thornbury. This twenty-year old frame schoolhouse situated on Westtown Road, had been built in 1820 by Nathan Hunt, a prominent member of the Chester County Quaker community. This small building was moved half a mile north on the same road, now Cheyney Road, and positioned to the front of a cemetery for persons of African ancestry there. The cemetery is the resting place for many heroic patriots of color who valiantly served in the armed forces of the United States during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. It was then “fitted” as a church by installing the pulpit and pews in the fashion customary to the time. Called Bethel at Thornbury, and having no assigned pastor, the membership continued under the pastorate of a circuit preacher from the Philadelphia District.

On June 5, 1865, just ten years after the final Confederate surrenders of the Civil War, the Thornbury Congregation purchased a strip of land running along the south side of the church from Ruth and John Pierce to increase the size of the cemetery. Today, the American flags fly over a considerable number of graves in the Thornbury cemetery where veterans of American conflicts ranging from the, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the World Wars were laid to rest. It is also believed that prior to 1840, many of the unmarked graves in the rear of the cemetery, became the final resting place of many of our brothers and sisters who travel the route to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

The original church was remodeled in 1910. Then, the structure was nearly demolished by the devastating blizzard of 1958. It was crushed to the ground, leaving only the original floor in place. During this crisis period, the congregation of Thornbury was invited to hold worship services in the community room of St John’s Episcopal Church on South Concord Road and continued there until their church was rebuilt. Through God’s grace, the outpouring of the community, mortgages on member homes, two volunteers, and lots of hard work the present-day structure was erected, with regular services resuming in June 1959.

While the building was expanded in size during the reconstruction, the original floorboards with the markings of the original altar remain in place as a reminder of the difficult times through which we have come. The expansion of the reconstructed sanctuary, and the subsequent construction of the fellowship and community facilities in the early 2000’s, can only be attributed to the incredible magnificent benevolence of God’s people.

While we remain small in number, we are dedicated to prayer and continue to nurture the needs of the community for over 180 years.

Thornbury AME Church is on the register of the Chester County Historical Society.