The History of Graham Chapel Church
Present day Graham Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church located in East Arcadia, North Carolina originated in the year 1872 under the name Graham Chapel Church. Research is underway to determine if Graham Chapel Church was formed under another denomination and later joined the AME Zion Conference or whether it began as an AME Zion Church. Older family members have indicated that as long as they can remember the church has always been an AME Zion Church, but; based upon the original land deed dated January 1874, the name AME Zion is not mentioned. At this time, the exact date in which the church joined the AME Zion denomination is not clear. It is clearly documented that in January 1874, Beverley L. Daniel and his wife Sarah Walker-Daniel sold one acre of land for the purpose of building Graham Chapel Church for $10.00 to its original trustees, James Graham (1814-1884), Moses Young (1816-?), and James Blanks (1814-1901).
