Author Description

History of Lexington Conference is a mid-twentieth century review of the Conference from 1869 to 1950. The Lexington Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Harrodsburg, KY, in 1869. It was the third conference created for African Americans. Prior to 1869, African Americans in Kentucky were members of the Kentucky Annual Conference. The First Lexington Conference was held in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1870 and included churches in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. In 1869 the Conference consisted of 11 churches, 10 ordained ministers, and 1500 members. By 1947 the Conference had 137 church buildings and a membership of 39,000. It continued to hold annual conferences until 1964 when it became part of the Cleveland District of the North East Ohio Conference. This brief history includes historical and statistical data, lists of delegates and conference locations, and also many photographs of bishops and contemporary administrators and secretaries.