Plymouth Church (Brooklyn)

Plymouth Church is Congregational church located at 57 Orange Street, between Henry and Hicks Streets, in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The Church House is located at 75 Hicks Street.The church was built in 1849–50 and was designed by Joseph C. Wells. Under the leadership of its first minister, Henry Ward Beecher, the church played a prominent role in slavery abolitionist activities during the mid-19th century.<ref>Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior</ref>

Plymouth Church has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1961, and has been a National Historic Landmark since 1966. It is part of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, created by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965.

The church is a member of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches.

History

Plymouth Church was founded in 1847 by a group of 21 individuals from New England, associated with a network that included wealthy anti-slavery merchants Arthur and Lewis Tappan.<ref>Applegate, Debby (April 17, 2007) "The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher" Image; reprint edition pp.201-08</ref><ref name=ourhist>"Our History" Template:Webarchive on the Plymouth Church website</ref> Among the founders were businessmen such as Henry C. Bowen, John Tasker Howard, David Hale, and Seth Hunt. It was the third Congregationalist church established in Brooklyn, which at the time was an independent city. The site for the church building was purchased from the First Presbyterian Church, which had occupied the location since 1822 but had outgrown the space and relocated to a new site a few blocks away on Henry Street.<ref name=fpc>"History" First Presbyterian Church website</ref>

Henry Ward Beecher served as the church’s first pastor and became a prominent figure in the abolitionist movement. His sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe, authored the 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.<ref>Kaufman, Will (2006) The Civil War in American Culture, Edinburgh University Press, p.18. Template:ISBN</ref> During this period, Plymouth Church became associated with anti-slavery efforts and was identified as a station on the Underground Railroad, through which slaves were secretly transported to Canada.<ref name="ourhist" /><ref name=nycland /><ref name=aia4>Template:Cite AIA4, p.668</ref><ref name=nrhpdoc>Template:Cite report (Template:NationalArchivesNote)</ref> The church's basement was used to conceal fugitives, and the building was locally referred to as "the Grand Central Depot".<ref name=Decker>Decker, Frank (2013) Brooklyn's Plymouth Church in the Civil War Era, The History Press. Template:ISBN</ref> Charles Bennett Ray, a Black minister and editor of The Colored American newspaper, is documented as having brought fugitives to the church. Plymouth Church remains one of the few Underground Railroad-associated congregations in New York still operating in its original location.<ref name=Decker /><ref>Strausbaugh, John (October 12, 2007) "On the Trail of Brooklyn’s Underground Railroad" The New York Times</ref><ref>Brawarsky, Sandee (January 19, 2001) "Safe Havens on the Freedom Line" The New York Times</ref>

1859 Telegram inviting Lincoln to speak at Plymouth Church

Plaque on the pew where Abraham Lincoln attended service

One of the prominent recurring events at Plymouth Church during the 19th century was a series of mock slave auctions conducted by Beecher. These events were intended to raise funds to purchase the freedom of enslaved individuals. Beecher would stage auctions within the church sanctuary, with the proceeds used to emancipate the individuals involved.<ref>Mitchell, Mary Niall (January 30, 2014) "The Young White Faces of Slavery" The New York Times</ref> The most well-known case involved Sally Maria Diggs, an enslaved child who had escaped from Alabama.<ref>"Plymouth Church" Pinky webpage Henry Ward Beecher - Leader in Controversy website</ref> On February 5, 1860, before a congregation of approximately 3,000 people, Beecher initiated a collection, and when a plate containing $900 and a gold ring reached the pulpit, he placed the ring on Diggs’s finger and declared, "Remember, with this ring I do wed thee to freedom".<ref>"Pinky looking at her Freedom Ring" Brooklyn Public Library website</ref><ref>Staff (May 11, 1927) "Slave girl sold by Beecher found" The New York Times</ref> Diggs, later known as Rose Ward Hunt, returned to Plymouth Church 67 years later and returned the ring.<ref>Staff (May 16, 1927) "Freed slave tells of 'sale' by Beecher" The New York Times</ref><ref>Staff (May 23, 1927) "Negroes: Again: Pinky," Time</ref>

In October 1859, Plymouth Church extended an invitation to Abraham Lincoln to speak to the congregation, offering a fee of $200.<ref>Staff (March 13, 1860) "Mr. Lincoln's Lecture at the Cooper Institute" The New York Times</ref><ref>"Cooper Union Address" Abraham Lincoln Online</ref> Lincoln accepted and attended services at the church on February 26, 1860.<ref>Rankin, Henry B. (February 11, 1917) "Abraham Lincoln's First Visit to New York City Intimately Described", The New York Times p.62</ref> A plaque now marks the pew where he sat. His lecture, initially planned for Plymouth, was moved to Cooper Union in Manhattan, where he delivered a speech opposing the expansion of slavery.<ref>New York Tribune (February 28, 1860), p.6</ref><ref>Poughkeepsie Journal (March 3, 1860), p.2</ref><ref>Holzer, Harold (2006) Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President New York:Simon & Schuster Template:ISBN</ref>

Plymouth Church (ca. 1866)

In 1867, a group from Plymouth Church joined a five-and-a-half-month journey aboard the steamer Quaker City to Europe and the Holy Land. Mark Twain accompanied the group as a journalist and later wrote The Innocents Abroad, a satirical account of the trip that became his best-selling work during his lifetime.

Throughout the 1870s, the church was at the center of a nationally publicized controversy known as the Beecher-Tilton Scandal Case. Allegations of an extramarital relationship between Beecher and Elizabeth Tilton, the wife of church member and journalist Theodore Tilton, led to a two-and-a-half-year trial and ecclesiastical investigation. The proceedings resulted in Beecher's exoneration by the church, the disfellowshipping of Theodore Tilton, and criticism of Beecher from figures such as Victoria Woodhull, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Isabella Beecher Hooker.

Beecher died in 1887 and was succeeded by several ministers including Lyman Abbott (1887–1899); Newell Dwight Hillis (1899–1924), who oversaw the completion of the Plymouth campus as it exists today;<ref>Henderson, Rev. Ira Wemmell (March 24, 1924) "Newell Dwight Hillis", Brooklyn Daily Eagle p.4A</ref><ref>Rus, Edward V. (April 20, 1924) "Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis, Ending His 25 Years Patorate at Historic Plymouth, Leaves a Rich Legacy to Brooklyn Boro," Brooklyn Daily Eagle p.C5</ref> J. Stanley Durkee (1926–1940), , a former President of Howard University;<ref>Staff (September 20, 1926) "Dr. Durkee Assumes Plymouth Pulpit" The New York Times p.26.</ref> L. Wendell Fifield (1941–1955), L. Wendell Fifield (1941-1955), the former pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church in Seattle;<ref>"Fifield, Rev. L. Wendell (1891-1964)" HistoryLink.org</ref><ref>Staff (May 21, 1941) "Plymouth Church Calls New Pastor," The New York Times p.46.</ref><ref>Staff (October 11, 1954) "Leaves Pilgrims Pulpit," The New York Times p.30.</ref> and Harry H. Kruener (1960–1984), former dean of the chapel at Denison University.<ref>Staff (February 8, 1960) "Called To Plymouth Church" The New York Times p. 9.</ref><ref>Staff (February 22, 1960) "Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, Visited by Lincoln, Will be 113" The New York Times p.36</ref><ref>Staff (February 4, 2001) "Harry H. Kruener; Minister, 85" (obituary) The New York Times</ref> In 1991, the Rev. Sharon Blackburn became the first female minister in the church's history served as associate pastor of Brooklyn's First Presbyterian Church,<ref name="Rock">Bell, Charles W. (July 25, 1998) "Rock-Solid Church's 12M" New York Daily News</ref><ref>Martin, Douglas (December 21, 1997) "Details of a Brooklyn Landmark" The New York Times</ref> following the tenures of Rev. Frank Goodwin (1985–1988) and Rev. Richard Stanger (1988–1991).

Charlemagne Palestine at Plymouth in 2014

Throughout its history, Plymouth Church has hosted numerous prominent speakers and cultural figures, including William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Charles Sumner, John Greenleaf Whittier, Clara Barton, Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Horace Greeley, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Hillary Clinton.<ref name="nrhpdoc" /><ref>Kinetza, WErika (March 11, 2001) "'Royal' Visit: Senator Clinton Preaches to the Converted" The New York Times.</ref> In February 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a sermon on the American Dream at the church.<ref>"The American Dream" speech (audio) on the Drew University website</ref><ref>Kruener, Rev. Harry H. (October 18, 1962) Letter by Rev. Kruener to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The King Center website</ref> The church has additionally served as a venue for concerts, including performances by composers Philip Glass and Charlemagne Palestine using its Aeolian-Skinner organ.<ref>Palmer, Robert (June 10, 1980) "Organist: Philip Glass" The New York Times</ref><ref>Sterritt, David (June 16, 1980) "A few fascinating strides in 'new music,' 'minimal art'; Philip Glass in solo concert. A recital at Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn", The Christian Science Monitor</ref><ref>Pareles, Jon (March 7, 2014) "Drones, Notes of Discord and a Sip of Cognac" The New York Times</ref><ref>Vimeo Video of Charlemagne Palestine at Plymouth Church, March 6, 2014 (BROKEN LINK)</ref>

In 1934, Plymouth Church merged with the Congregational Church of the Pilgrims, forming the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims. The Congregational Church of the Pilgrims vacated its building, designed by Richard Upjohn, which later became the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral and a designated New York City Landmark. Stained-glass windows from the original Pilgrims church, including works by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Tiffany Studios, were installed in Plymouth Church's Hillis Hall.<ref name="aia4" /><ref name="art">"Art and Architecture" on the Plymouth Church website</ref> The church also houses a Template:Convert fragment of Plymouth Rock.<ref name="Rock" />

In 1958, following the 1957 merger of the Congregational Christian Churches with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to form the United Church of Christ, Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims voted not to join the newly formed denomination.<ref>Staff (February 27, 1958) "Church Merger Opposed" The New York Times p.21.</ref> The church is currently affiliated with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. In September 2011, it returned to its original name, "Plymouth Church".<ref name="ourhist" /> The congregation presently consists of approximately 425 members.

In 2016, Rev. Brett Younger became the 11th settled senior minister in the church’s history, succeeding Rev. David C. Fisher, who retired in September 2013 after leading the Plymouth congregation for 9 years.<ref>Tate, Francesca Norsen (April 19, 2016) "Brooklyn Heights’ Plymouth Church appoints senior minister", Brooklyn Daily Eagle</ref>

Architecture

Photo of the first J&R-Lamb-Studios window installed at Plymouth Church (1907). It depicts the scene of John Hampden appealing for the Bill of Rights before Charles I.

Built in 1849–50, Plymouth Church is an example of 19th century urban tabernacle architecture with italianate and colonial motifs. Its layout, influenced by the Broadway Tabernacle in Manhattan, was designed by Joseph C. Wells – who was later one of the founders of the American Institute of Architects. The barn-like church building, with its pews arranged in an arc before the pulpit, resemble more an auditorium or theater than what had traditionally been considered a church. This open design was adopted by many evangelical Protestant churches throughout the United States in the second half of the 19th century.<ref name=nycland>Template:Cite nycland, p.232</ref><ref>Gray, Christopher (August 3, 1997) "An 1850 Brick Meeting House of Dramatic Simplicity", The New York Times</ref><ref>Architecture page on Plymouth Church webpage</ref>

In 1866, the church's original pipe organ was replaced by E. and G. G. Hook, which installed what was then the largest organ in the United States, expanded further by Aeolian-Skinner in 1937.<ref name=art /><ref>"The Plymouth Aeolian-Skinner Organ" Plymouth Church website</ref>

Beecher statue and Lincoln relief by Gutzon Borglum in the church garden.

In 1907–09, the church installed stained-glass windows by the noted J&R Lamb Studios.<ref>Brooklyn Daily Eagle (December 30, 1907), p.10</ref><ref>Brooklyn Daily Eagle (December 21, 1908), p.10</ref> This studio opened it doors in 1857 and is now the oldest existing studio of its kind in the US.<ref>History of stained glass windows Stained Glass Association of America website</ref><ref>J&R Lamb website</ref> The windows in Plymouth Church are unique in that they do not depict any biblical scenes. Instead they focus on the history of democracy in England and the US, with a particular emphasis on the influence of the Puritans, Pilgrims and Congregational Churches.<ref>Staff (December 16, 1906) "Decking Plymouth Church" The New York Times</ref><ref>Brooklyn Daily Eagle (April 1, 1910), p.27.</ref> In 1913 the family of John Arbuckle,<ref>"History of Arbuckle's Coffee" at Arbuckles website</ref> a coffee merchant, donated money to create a large garden and the Classic revival parish house. The house and arcade which adjoin the building were designed by Woodruff Leeming.<ref name=nycland /><ref name=aia4 />

The church garden, fronting on Orange Street and located between the Church House and the Sanctuary, contains a statue of Beecher and a bas-relief of Lincoln. Both were produced by famed sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who later created the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.<ref name=nycland /><ref name=aia4 /> An almost identical statue of Beecher is located less than a mile away, next to Cadman Plaza, in front of Brooklyn's historic Federal Building and Post Office.<ref>Henry Ward Beecher Monument, on the Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation</ref>

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 4, 1961,<ref name="nris" /> and was named a National Historic Landmark on October 15, 1966.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nrhpdoc" /> It is located within the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, designated on November 23, 1965, by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.<ref name=desrep>Staff (November 23, 1965) "Brooklyn Heights Historic District Designation Report" New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission</ref>

Tours of the church, including its grounds, the Sanctuary, Hillis Hall, and the original Underground Railroad facilities, are available upon request.<ref>"Visitors and Tours" on the Plymouth Church website</ref> From 2000 to 2015, these tours were given by Lois Rosebrooks, the long-time director of history ministry services.<ref>Barron, James (November 22, 2015) "Storied Brooklyn Church to Lose Its Keeper of History" The New York Times</ref>Template:Clear left

See also

• List of Underground Railroad sites
• List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Brooklyn

References

Notes Template:Reflist

Bibliography

• Applegate, Debby (2006) The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher New York: Doubleday. Template:ISBN

External links

• Official website
• Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims site on "Aboard the Underground Railroad", National Park Service tour list
• Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), at the Lincoln Institute's Mr. Lincoln and New York
• A model of Plymouth Church