Laurel's first African American congregation began meeting in 1892 and was affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church. The church was named for Bishop Richard Allen, the denomination's founder, and its first pastor was Rev. D.K. Turner, who was appointed in 1899. He oversaw construction of the first church building, which the Laurel Sawmill Company donated. The church burned in 1918 and was rebuilt the same year, and it was replaced in 1947.