About The Sacred Site
Plymouth Church was founded in 1847 by transplanted New Englanders who wanted a Congregational church like those in which they had been raised, with a simple order of worship, governed by the congregation.
Plymouth Church’s first pastor was Henry Ward Beecher, who became a leading figure in the abolitionist movement. His sister was Harriet Beecher Stowe, noted today as the author of the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) that “helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War.” The church itself became an important station on the Underground Railroad through which slaves from the South were secretly transported to Canada. Locally known as “the Grand Central Depot,” slaves were hidden in the tunnel-like basement beneath the church sanctuary. The Rev. Charles B. Ray, an African-American living in Manhattan, and the founding editor of The Colored American newspaper, was quoted as saying, “I regularly drop off fugitives at Henry Ward Beecher’s Plymouth Church in Brooklyn.” Plymouth Church is one of the few active Underground Railroad congregations in New York still housed in its original location.
Tours will take place every 30 minutes during the open house hours.
75 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Website: https://www.plymouthchurch.org/
Period: 1850-1899
Style: Classical Revival
Architect / Builder: Wells, Joseph C.