Founded in 1772, the Portsmouth Methodist congregation did not adopt the name Monumental Methodist until the 1870s. It was founded by a missionary visiting Hampton Roads by the name of Robert WIlliams. He arrived and was not well received in Norfolk, but when he came to Portsmouth, Issac Luke, a Portsmouth man took the missionary under his protection and allowed him to preach from his porch in Olde Towne.

Monumental is the third oldest continuous Methodist congregation in America. Members of the church fought for the Patriots during the American Revolution. The church moved to its current site in the 1830s, giving their old church on Glasgow Street to the African American congregation, creating one of the first African Methodist congrgations. This Virginia historical site would later become Emanuel A.M.E. Church. The building as you see it today opened in 1876.