The present building dates from 1857. The first African-American pastor, Rev. James A. Handy, was appointed in 1864. The church contains benches built by slaves and black feeedmen.
Additionally, enslaved residents who were members of the African Methodist Church, later known as Emanuel A.M.E. Church, escaped from Portsmouth aboard vessels that plied the waterways that headed to points north. These freedom seekers included Clarissa Davis and her two brothers William and Charles, and sister. Also, members such as Anthony Blow and Moses Wines were recorded to have escaped. Operatives like Henry “Bluebeard” Lewey and Eliza Bains, are credited with assisting many of the Church’s members, especially in the 1840s and 50s. The Church’s records indicated that their membership was depleted in the 1840s because of the large numbers who escaped. Moreover, other accounts, such as the book written by William Still and WPA oral histories of Portsmouth residents, discussed the interaction between the Church and the Underground Railroad. It is also listed on the Nation Park Services "Network to Freedom" trail.