Roberts Memorial United Methodist Church is the second oldest Black congregation in Alexandria, Virginia. Founded in 1834 and originally known as Davis Chapel, it has served a mostly Black community for almost two centuries. It is a member of the United Methodist Church. Built in 1834, the original church building is still in use and is now the oldest African American church structure in Alexandria. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. As well as being a house of worship and community gathering place, it also housed one of the earliest schools for Black children and adults at a time when the laws of Virginia banned the education of African Americans. History Early Years In 1830 approximately 250 free and enslaved African Americans, all members of the dominant Trinity Methodist Church in Alexandria, made known their wish for a church of their own; the white leadership of Trinity was supportive of their plans. They bought lots for $200 in north Alexandria, however further plans were put on hold following the Nat Turner Rebellion of 1831. In 1834 these first lots were sold and a new property acquired for $350 on South Washington Street, sandwiched between the established Black neighborhoods of ‘the Bottoms’ and ‘Hayti’. The deed to the property stipulated that it be used to build a house of worship for the Methodist Episcopal Church. These Black Americans had been well integrated into the Methodist congregation of Alexandria Station, which had worshiped since 1804 at the Methodist Meeting House, a few blocks north on Washington Street (later renamed Trinity Methodist Church). As was customary, they sat for services in the gallery under supervision of a white pastor. They had their own religious classes and on Sunday afternoons they attended their own prayer meetings and revivals in homes or at Old Zion, a former school house on North Columbus St. One of their members, Cato, had become a well-respected member and orator within the Trinity Congregation. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the African American members of Trinity wanted their own church. It was only in a self-segregating community of faith, away from whites, that they had the freedom to nurture their distinctive voice and to train their own members in positions of leadership and responsibility. The church building on South Washington St. was completed in 1834 and developed rapidly into an important meeting place