Historian Joseph E. Walker explains that an increase in the African American population in the extreme southern tip of Berks County accounted for the building of the A.M.E. Mount Frisby Church, also known as the Six Penny Colored Church and the Mt. Zion Church. Located three miles from Hopewell Furnace, the church was built in 1856 by runaway slaves. In 1860, there were nine homes surrounding the church, indicating that it was a “Negro colony centered around the new church” (Walker 1974, 311-12). The Six Penny Colored Church is still standing, though abandoned. It is home to the oldest African American cemetery in Berks County (Homan 1958, 114).
https://sites.psu.edu/localhistories/woven-with-words/the-underground-railroad-in-the-19th-century/
The tiny community of Six Penny Creek — which doesn’t exist anymore — was more than a place to harbor fugitives. It was a place where workers of all races and nationalities lived together.
“The people who came here, whether to work three days and continue north or if they came and settled, they were looking for the same thing,” she said. “They were looking for freedom, to raise their children and get them educated. That’s all they wanted. Some folks felt they could find that here and stayed, [said] we’re going to make a home here.”
In 1856 the African-American community at Six Penny Creek established an African Methodist Episcopal Church on land owned by the Cole family. This church served as a station on the Underground Railroad and as the site of the oldest African-American cemetery in Berks County. Tombstones record the burial of many former Hopewell Furnace workers. The cemetery, carefully restored and maintained by the Cole family, serves as a silent reminder of the once thriving African-American community that helped fuel the iron industry in southern Berks County.
https://www.nps.gov/hofu/learn/historyculture/african-americans.htm
Hopewell Furnace employed workers from surrounding communities. In 1780, Pennsylvania passed an abolition act that ordered a form of gradual emancipation for enslaved persons. As a result, Pennsylvania had a growing African American community by the 19th century. In 1856, an African American community at Six Penny Creek established an African Methodist Episcopal Church on land owned by the family of a free African American, Issac Cole. It is believed this church served as a stop on the Underground Railroad and as the site of the oldest known African American cemetery in Berks County. The tombstones in the cemetery record the burial of many African Americans who worked at Hopewell Furnace. Nevertheless, there is no documented evidence showing Hopewell Furnace was directly involved with the Underground Railroad.
https://www.nps.gov/hofu/learn/historyculture/african-americans-at-hopewell.htm
In 1856 the African American community at Six Penny Creek established an African Methodist Episcopal Church on land owned by the Cole family. This church served as a station stop on the Underground Railroad and as the site of the oldest known African American cemetery in Berks County. The tombstones in this cemetery record the burial of many African Americans who worked at Hopewell Furnace. The cemetery, carefully restored and maintained by the Cole family, serves as a silent reminder of the once thriving African American community that helped fuel the iron industry in southern Berks County.
https://www.nps.gov/hofu/learn/historyculture/african-americans-at-hopewell.htm
Isaac Cole, a free African American, worked as a laborer at Hopewell Furnace. In the 19th century, Hopewell Furnace offered equal pay for equal work regardless of race or gender. Through his work at Hopewell Furnace, Cole was able to purchase some 100 acres of land which housed several structures including the Mount Frisby AME Church.
Berks County maps from 1860 and 1876 show Isaac Cole as a land owner in the African American community at Six Penny Creek in what is now French Creek State Park. In 1864, Cole volunteered to serve in an infantry regiment of the United States Colored Troops of the United States Army. His regiment saw action at the Battle of Honey Hill, South Carolina, in 1864 and participated in the occupation of Charleston in 1865. Isaac Cole’s grave at the Mt. Frisby Cemetery is marked with a government-issue veteran’s headstone. The Mt. Frisby Church is located on Cole family property and served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.