Emancipated slaves of pioneer landowners in nearby communities established homes and farms here in the 1870s. Life centered around the church and school near this site. Land for the African Methodist Episcopal Church was purchased from Nat Allen, one of the original church trustees, for whom the community was named. The one-room schoolhouse was moved to Kennard (3 mi. W) in 1968, but was returned to the Allen Chapel Community in 1985. Descendants of many of the original settlers still live here.