The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Gallia County was organized in 1818 as Bethel Church, and in 1868, when the church was erected and rededicated at its present site on land donated by John Gee, it adopted the name John Gee. Its founders were John and Barbara Gee, William and Eliza Napper, Leah Stewart, Nancy Bell, John and Lorain Givens, Lovina Lucas, and Marthilda Warren. It was the first colored religious organization in Gallia County and throughout its existence stood at the forefront of human compassion. In the 1830's it supported a school for colored children operated by Elisha Barnes; among his former students were James Madison Bell, who gained national note for his association with John Brown's Raiders, and Harvey Cain, who in 1872 addressed the U.S. House of Representatives on Civil Rights. During the Civil War, it was a refuge for soldiers during the time of Lightborn's Retreat, and the building also housed many refugees coming north looking for freedom as a designated stop on the Underground Railroad. In 1888 it hosted the Ohio Conference of the A.M.E., attended by Bishop B.W. Arnett, who in 1879 was chaplain of the Ohio House of Representatives and later served in that body from 1885-1887; the Honorable Benjamin Lee, who served as president of Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio; and the Rev. Phillip Tolliver, the host pastor, who is credited with planning the largest Emancipation Proclamation Celebration in Gallia County history in 1887. That celebration, hosted at John Gee, is part of an ongoing observance purported to be the longest continuous celebration in the country. The building continues to serve the community as the John Gee Black Historical Center, Inc., established on June 2, 1998.