First Congregational Church is located in

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Burlington ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976. The church is also a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

in the Heritage Hill Historic District.

History

The congregation was organized in 1838. The Rev. Horace Hutchinson was the first pastor and the congregation met in the home of James G. Edwards who was the publisher of the Burlington Hawk-Eye. He was succeeded by the Rev. William Salter who served here for 64 years (1846-1910). with The congregation was involved in social ministry, civil rights, public education, and free libraries. Under Salter's leadership, it was a champion of the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

and was a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. When the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches merged with the

Evangelical and Reformed Church The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). ...

and formed the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

, First Congregational Church joined with about 200 other Congregational Christian churches in choosing not to join the merger, mainly because of the issue of congregational polity. It became a part of the

National Association of Congregational Christian Churches The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of 304 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak Cree ...

, which was created in 1955. The church is a member of the National Association, the Iowa-Nebraska Association of Congregational Churches and the Burlington Area Council of Churches.

Architecture

The church building was constructed from 1867 to 1870. It is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

built of dressed dolomite. It is dominated by a tall, square,

crenelated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

corner tower. It rises in three stages, which are separated by

belt course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

References

External links

Church Web Site
{{NRHP in Des Moines County, Iowa Religious organizations established in 1838 Gothic Revival church buildings in Iowa Churches in Burlington, Iowa Congregational churches in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Des Moines County, Iowa Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Churches on the Underground Railroad Underground Railroad in Iowa African-American history of Iowa 1838 establishments in Iowa Territory Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa