Organized in 1869, Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church has been part of First Ward history for over a century. Its first pastor was the Rev. David Wren. Services were held in a brush arbor until a sanctuary was built in 1873. The building was destroyed by the 1900 hurricane, then rebuilt and modified several times over the years. An elementary school established by the church in the 1870s later became part of the public school system and in 1927 was named for Richard Brock, an early church member and city alderman.