Plymouth Congregational Church Collection

Plymouth Congregational Church erected its church building before it erected its congregation. By September 28, 1852, a group of well to do Rochesterians had already raised $32, 950 towards the erection of a church. A Congregational Society was established to hold the church property and handle its finances on February 17, 1853, followed by the laying of a cornerstone for the building in September (the building was located at the corner of Troup Street and Plymouth Avenue). The organization of the church congregation followed on August 21, 1855, with 67 Rochesterians from mulitple Presbyterian churches throughout the City transferring to the new church, which was established by an ecclesiastical council of Congregationalists. The movement of these Presbyterians into a Congregational church was the outgrowth of long-standing politico-theological tensions amongst Presbyterians, with the transferees identifying with the liberal "New Light" theology and opposition to slavery. They also,likely, desired, as prosperous residents of the Third Ward (Corn Hill) to form a new church in their own neighborhood.

The search for a pastor was slow, occupying most of the fall of 1855. However, February 17, 1856 saw Jonathan Edwards, formerly minister of the Congregational Church in Woburn, Massachusetts, take up the pastorate. He was considered a good preacher, but his pastorate saw the young church in financial trouble and he conflicted with its Trustees. On November 2, 1867, he resigned to take a pastorate in Dedham, Massachusetts, though he returned to Rochester as a guest preacher several times.

Edwards was not replaced until 1865, by the Reverend Dwight Bartlett. Bartlett was an energetic leader for the church, which reached its largest size (388 members) under his pastorate. He expanded both the music program, installing Rochester's first large pipe organ in the church, and expanding the mission Sunday School in the Eighth Ward. He resigned in the winter of 1873, his resignation letter unfortunately hinting at dissent and disunity amongst the congregation.

Finding a new pastor took over 2 years, with Reverend Myron Adams accepting a call in March of 1876. A native of East Bloomfield and Civil War veteran, Adams was a liberal reformer at the vanguard of the "New Theology" then coming into vogue. (It is worth noting that his son was the reforming journalist and author Samuel Hopkins Adams.) Myron Adams reformed the Plymouth Church's confession of faith and led the congregation in a humanistic path. Adams was condemned and tried for heresy by the Ontario Association of Congregational Ministers, with the charge coming on December 27, 1880. As a result, Adams was "disfellowshipped" from other Congregational ministers and began to lead Plymouth Church down an independent path, including associating with Unitarians, Universalists and even the local Jewish congregations. Over the course of the 1880s, the church reformed its finances and built a stronger social life for its congregants, along with liberalizing both its statement of faith and its charter in 1894. Unfortunately, Reverend Adams had been increasingly ill over the past decade, and passed away on December 29, 1895.

An associate pastor, William Kettle, had been called to assist Adams in November of 1895, and he succeeded Adams to the pastorate. However, his orthodox views and movement toward Congregational and Presbyterian affiliations did not endear him to the congregation. Keetle would resing, officially, on June 1, 1898. He was soon replaced by Reverend William Thurston Brown, a radical minister committed to Christian Socialism who had faced heresy charges from some of his congregants in Madison, Connecticut in 1896. Brown was deeply involved in the local labor movement during his time in Rochester, helping to lead the Labor Lyceum. He also formally led Plymouth Church out of the Congregational Church in 1899. His involvement in founding the Pilgrim Club, a men's association within the church, troubled some congregants, as did his focus on political matters and his new magazine, Here and Now, founded in 1901. With the church and its finances devolving into chaos, Brown resigned on May 11, 1902.

Brown's resignation left the Plymouth Church in shambles. There was an attempt by the Western Association (Congregational Church) to rescue the Plymmouth Church and bring it back into orthodoxy, with Reverend Edward R. Evans as pastor, but the congregation was not supportive. As a result, the congregation dissolved in 1904 and the church building was sold to the Spiritualist Society in 1912. The church building would be demolished as part of urban renewal in the 1950s.