{"nrhp_refnum":"82003414","name":"Foster Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"90 Wildey St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tarrytown","county":"Westchester County","state":"NY","lat":41.08001195500003,"lon":-73.86188071199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red brick church at 90 Wildey Street in Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York, completed in 1865 and designed and built by local builder-architect James Bird.","why_significant":"It is described as the oldest black church in continuous use in Westchester County and possibly one of the oldest in New York State. Built by free blacks, its congregation took part in the underground railway and served as a social link for Black residents settling in Tarrytown. It is also associated with Amanda Foster, called \"Mother of the Church.\"","narrative":"Foster Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church sits on Wildey Street in Tarrytown, New York, a short distance from the Hudson River. Completed in 1865 and built by James Bird, a local builder-architect, the two-story brick church has a fieldstone foundation, a gable roof and three lancet windows on its main facade. Later work includes a coating of artificial stone veneer, a simulated slate roof, stained glass and a 1960s cinder block addition, though some early interior features survive. The congregation was organized in 1860 by Henry and Amanda Foster, Reverend Jacob Thomas and Hiram Jimerson, and the church was built with funds raised in the community. It is considered the oldest black church in continuous use in Westchester County. Its members took part in underground railway activity, and the church long served as a center of social and religious life for Black residents of Tarrytown. Amanda Foster, honored as \"Mother of the Church,\" is closely tied to its founding.","period_of_significance":"1865","architect_builder":"James Bird","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use by its congregation as a religious building; the form notes many twentieth-century alterations, and condition is marked fair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.553593-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82003414.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003414/c819e4c5ab-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003414/c819e4c5ab-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foster_Memorial_AME_Zion_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foster_Memorial_AME_Zion_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323033","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster_Memorial_AME_Zion_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5473725"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/westchester-county/foster-memorial-a-m-e-zion-church-82003414/"}