Founded in 1791 by free blacks and slaves, this is the oldest AME church in the South. With a sanctuary holding 2,500, it still has one of the largest black congregations south of Baltimore. The original gas lanterns hanging inside date from its founding. In 1822, one of the church’s founders, ex-slave Denmark Vesey, urged the congregation into an insurrection, but authorities learned of the rebellion and the church was burned (Vesey was hanged). The church was reorganized in 1865, and eventually rebuilt in 1891 into the present structure you can visit today.