*On this date in 1867, the First Congregational Church of Atlanta held its first service. It came into existence as a “gathered church.”
At first, The American Missionary Association established the Storrs School in Atlanta. The school served as a center for social services, education, and worship for newly freed Blacks. Worshipers at the school's services petitioned for a church of their own. As a result, a Congregational Church was organized, and the AMA donated the land.
As one of the oldest Black Congregational churches in the United States, First Church's early history is embedded in the history of the American Missionary Association. Also called the First Church, United Church of Christ is located in downtown Atlanta at the corner of Courtland Street and John Wesley Dobbs Avenue (formerly Houston Street).
It is notable for being the favored church of the city's Black elite, including Alonzo Herndon and Andrew Young, for its celebrated minister Henry H. Proctor, and for President Tafts visit in 1898. The church was never formally segregated but had become mostly Black by 1892. The current building is the second church, built on the site of the original one in 1908.
