As Black residents left nearby Weaver Settlement for jobs in Marion, Rev. G. W. Shelton began organizing a church on the southside of the city in 1899. In 1901, the congregation purchased the building here. Over 600 people helped dedicate the church as Allen Temple in 1905 for A.M.E. founder Bishop Richard Allen. It became a center for Black philanthropy and activism. Allen Temple clergy helped found a local NAACP chapter in 1918 and advocated for legal justice after the 1930 Marion lynchings. The church hosted a large NAACP rally in 1929 and Marion Urban League meetings by the 1940s. In the 1960s, members and clergy, several of them state NAACP leaders, organized mass meetings and marches demanding an end to segregation in Marion.