Lee Chapel A.M.E. Church

Benjamin Franklin Lee, born in Bridgeton, New Jersey, in 1841, paid his way through Wilberforce University with manual labor and teaching. He was Wilberforce's president from 1876 to 1884 and then editor of the Christian Recorder, the African Methodist Episcopal Church's newspaper, until 1892. So in 1888, when the Brownwood congregation was organized, he was the paper's editor. The church elected him a bishop in 1892; he served until 1921 and became senior bishop in 1915.

What the plaque says

Lee Chapel A.M.E. Church Named for Bishop Benjamin Franklin Lee (1841-1926), Lee Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1888. Led by the Rev. George E. Smith, who also organized the first school for blacks in Brownwood, the congregation first held worship services in Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Later services were held in a brush arbor at Smith's home. The first church building, originally located at Cordell and Henderick streets, was moved to this site in 1906. An integral part of the city's history, Lee Chapel A.M.E. Church continues to serve its community. (1989)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Brownwood State Park — 9.4 mi
  A CCC park on a reservoir that filled in a single flood before its dam was done, with stone cabins, a hilltop dance pavilion and a grand staircase climbed by dancers arriving by boat.

More markers nearby

• George Edward Smith — steps away
• Howard Payne University — 0.5 mi
• The Rev. Dr. John David Robnett — 0.6 mi
• The Rev. Noah Turner Byars — 0.6 mi