People, Locations, Episodes

Pilgrim Baptist Church (St. Paul, MN) is Founded

Pilgrim Baptist Church

On this date in 1866, Pilgrim Baptist Church in St. Paul, MN, was formally organized with its first service.

Rev. Robert Hickman and others were primarily responsible for this spiritual endeavor. That day, a baptismal service on the shores of the Mississippi River was held, climaxing three long years of hard effort. From the onset, it was not easy for the Pilgrim Founders. Their story began in 1863 with a group of black men, women, and children from Missouri who traveled North searching for work and a new way of life. Accounts of how this group came to Minnesota are mixed but not contradictory.

One story states that a group of blacks escaped from Boone County, MO, receiving protection from Union forces and aid from the Underground Railroad. They were smuggled aboard the steamer "War Eagle" and taken north. They referred to themselves as "Pilgrims,” and Hickman was among them.

Once settled, his prayer group held services in their homes in downtown St. Paul. Finally, in November 1863, they rented the God Temple lodge room in the Concert Hall Building on Third Street. In January 1864, Hickman sought and received mission status from the First Baptist Church of St. Paul. Between 1864 and 1866, the Black parishioners continued to worship separately under Hickman's direction.

The church was also established with help from the Ladies' Aid Society to serve the Black community of St. Paul.  The charter members of Pilgrim were the Rev. and Mrs. Hickman, Fielding Combs, Henry Moffitt, John Trotter, Giles Crenshaw, and members of their families.  This group requested the trustees of First Baptist to intercede and purchase a lot in trust, costing $200.00, for which they would build Pilgrim Baptist Church.

The first building was located on a lot in Sibley near Morris Street downtown. It was built with stone and wood, with a seating capacity of 300, for $2400, including the lot. A portion of the white First Baptist Church of St. Anthony, Minneapolis, which was being razed, was used in the construction.

The first two ministers, William Norris (1866-1868) and Andrew Torbert (1868-1877), were white. Robert Hickman, the leader and natural candidate for the minister position, was not chosen. During this time, as clerk of the congregation, he attended yearly denominational meetings. He was eventually licensed to preach in 1874 and ordained in 1875.

When Hickman became the congregation’s official minister in 1878, its white ministry ended.  Located in the Rondo community, Pilgrim Baptist Church of St. Paul is one of the oldest Black Churches in Minnesota. The Reverend Charles Gill, Jr. is the current pastor.