From colonial times to the present, African-Americans have affiliated in various capacities with the Episcopal Church. Saint Ambrose Church was established during the post-Civil War era in 1868. By an act of the North Carolina legislature’s 1868-1869 sessions, a lot was granted on the corner of Lane and Dawson Streets for 99 years to Saint Ambrose Episcopal Church and Parochial School. By a subsequent act of the Legislature, the Vestry (trustees) of the initial property was authorized to sell the original site and reinvest the proceeds in other real estate in or near the city. Under this authority, the Vestry purchased a lot on the corner of Wilmington and Cabarrus Streets and there relocated the church building intact. This relocation took place around the turn of the 20th century. The church and parochial school operated many years in this location. The school was located in the basement of the church. Later a rectory was built adjacent to the church. The church, then a mission congregation in the diocese, remained so until under the leadership of the Reverend George A. Fisher; it became the first black parish in the Diocese of North Carolina.

In 1896 it was reported, “We now have a Vestry of six faithful men, a Woman’s Auxiliary and an Altar Guild in good working order.”

(Source: The Rev. James E. King, Deacon, Parochial Report, St. Ambrose’s Church, Raleigh, 1896 Journal of Convention, 95)