Shiloh A.M.E. Church was founded in 1886 and organized by Revs. D.A. Christie and C. Heyward with Sol Ellerbe and Galas Culay, Walter Montgomery, and Henry Tilley as stewards. Its first services were held in a brush arbor, and its first sanctuary was built nearby in 1887. The present sanctuary, a frame building later covered in brick veneer, was built in 1892. Member Robert Lee Williams (1862-1949) was a community leader and progressive farmer, and when he died at the age of 87, Elloree businesses closed in his memory and the New York Times called him "generally and sincerely mourned." The church also hosted numerous meetings during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s seeking to desegregate local schools and businesses.