Alameda County, Oakland, California
Plymouth Avenue Church, Oakland, 1871
Plymouth Avenue Church, Oakland, 1871 -- In the Spring of 1871, the Trustees of the First Congregational Religious Society of Oakland, for the sake of aiding the Pacific Theological Seminary in purchasing the present site and buildings of that Institution, and for the sake of preparing the way for planting a Congregational Church for the northern part of the city, secured the four lots on the northeast corner of Plymouth Avenue and Elm Street In the Spring of 1873, on request of twenty-six persons residing in the neighborhood, the Trustees voted to expend five thousand dollars for the construction of a chapel, provided the First Congregational Church approved of the undertaking. June 4, 1873, the church voted its approval. The building was erected under the direction of W. K. Rowell, W. M. Boyd, and I. W. Knox committee appointed by the Trustees.
It was at first intended that the congregation should be gathered as a branch of the First Church. But as the way seemed not very clear to this course, permission was obtained of the Legislature of California for the transfer of the property to a distinct corporation.
Accordingly, on January 28, 1874, at a meeting held at the house of W. K. Rowell, it was resolved to organize the Plymouth Avenue Church, and Directors were chosen. The building was dedicated March i, 1874: sermon by Rev. J. K. McLean; the other exercises were conducted by Professors Mooar and Benton. The entire cost of the building was $6,229.29; of the upholstering and other furnishing, $1,265.30. Regular services were commenced forthwith. The church was formally constituted and recognized as in fellowship, with other churches by a council, April 9, 1874, the recognized membership numbering thirty-eight. Dr. A. L. Stone preached the sermon; Rev. W. C. Pond offered the constituting prayer; Rev. J. K. McLean gave the fellowship of the churches; Revs. T. G. Thurston and J. T. Wills also participating.
At the beginning of services the Revs. George Mooar, D. D., and Joseph A. Benton, D. D., were invited to supply the pulpit, and the former to perform the pastoral service of the congregation. The first deacons of the church were, W. K. Rowell, Amasa Pratt, Charles F. Whitton, Abel.Whitton; and the directors: W. M. Boyd, W. K. Rowell, W. H. Jordan, D. S. Sutton, W. H. Love, A. Pratt, S. F. Daniels, the Sunday-school being first placed under the superintendence of Amasa Pratt. The number of those received into the church at its constitution on April 9, 1874, was thirty-eight, which number was doubled in the following year, and since then the membership and attendance have considerably increased.
Alameda County, California,
Including Its
Geology, Topography, Soil and Productions
Oakland.: M.W. Wood Publisher, 1883
Transcribed by Julie Appletoft, November, 2007 Pages 730-731
Archive Church Records ~ Archive Index
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