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HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH BEND AND ST. JOSEPH COUNTY Phone: 574/235.9371 Fax: 574/235.9021 Email: hpcsbsjc@southbendin.gov STAFF REPORT CONCERNING AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL HISTORIC LANDMARK DESIGNATION Date: May 21, 2026 Property Location: 310 West Monroe Street Architectural Style/Date/Architect or Builder: Gothic Revival / 1917 Property Owner: Legal Description: Lot 67 Martins W End & S 1/2 VAC Monroe St N & adj 20/21 VAC ORD #10508-17 04/20/170 Rating: Notable EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Olivet AME/Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church property meets the criteria for landmark designation in at least four areas. 1) Its character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage, or culture of the City of South Bend or St. Joseph County, the State of Indiana, or the United States: 2) Its embodiment of elements of architectural design, detail, materials, or craftsmanship which represents an archi- tectural characteristic or innovation; 3) Its educational value; 4) Its suitability for preservation; The property fulfills criteria #1 as the location of the first religious institution established in South Bend by a congregation of African-American descent. The extant structure was constructed by that same congregation at this same site at a later date which has since accrued historical merit. The property fulfills criteria #2 as an example of the design, plan, detail, and materials of the early twentieth cen- tury church construction. The structure was rated as Significant (11) in the latest summary report of the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory (1993) which described it as being unaltered and in good condition. The property fulfills criteria #3 as a publicly accessible surviving structure from the first African-American church congregation organized in South Bend and associated with numerous persons of stature in the African-American community of South Bend. The property fulfills criteria #4 by its unaltered condition, integrity, and continued use. The Olivet African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the City of South Bend in 1870 under the di- rection of Reverend John Bundy and nine charter members. The Organization became a legal entity by Articles of Association dated March 16, 1871 under the name of “Olivet Chapel Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church of South Bend”. Said articles of association were signed by James Hurst, Pharoah (A.K.A. Pharoh and Farrow) Powell, J. H. Jackson, Catherine Wilson and Alice Fowler [2]. The Church placed great emphasis on the religious and social improvement of local residents of African descent. For many years, it was the only center of the social, religious, and political life of the city’s African-American community. This congregation is found to be vari- ously referred to as Olivet, Mount Olive [3] and simply Olivet A.M.E. [4] in the historical sources.