In 1824, Haiti’s president offered liberated African-American slaves from Philadelphia free transportation and land in Hispaniola in exchange for farming. Nearly 6,000 immigrants made the trip. About 200 of them arrived in Samaná aboard the Turtle Dove in 1825. By 1871, their numbers reached 600. A decade later, they built this humble wooden church. It was manufactured in England and served the Wesleyan (Anglican) faith. St. Peter’s Evangelical Church is known by Samaná Americans as La Churcha. This is the oldest structure in town. Estimates suggest about 8,000 descendants of these early colonists now live in Samaná.