12. New Revived United Methodist Church

The New Revived United Methodist Church, once known as Jefferson Methodist Episcopal Church, was established in Smithville in 1876. Before the Civil War, Methodist Camp Meetings were popular in the area.

Following the Civil War, four African-American churches, including this one, were built in nearby local communities. In1864, Malone Methodist Episcopal Church on White Marsh Road was the first to be established, followed by Christ Rock Methodist Episcopal Church near Cambridge in 1875, then Jefferson Methodist Episcopal Church here in 1876, and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Harrisville in 1880.

One by one, the churches closed their doors following World War II as families moved away and the number of congregants declined. Today, people from each of these four congregations are part of the New Revived United Methodist Church congregation. Harriet Tubman’s brother, William Henry Ross Stewart, married Harriet
Parker, a free woman from Smithville, around 1850. In late 1854, Harriet Tubman helped three of her brothers escape to Canada, including William Henry. His wife joined him with their two small children in 1855. Marriages between members of these neighboring communities illustrate the social interaction between free and enslaved people before the end of the Civil War and emancipation.