Plymouth Church, Brooklyn

Plymouth Church was a well-known church in Brooklyn during the 19th century. Reverend Henry Ward Beecher was its popular preacher famous for his sermons and his abolitionist beliefs. In the South, Plymouth Church was known as an important station on the Underground Railway, and even had the nickname "Grand Central Depot." It was well known that members of the congregation were "stockholders" in the line, meaning that many people helped runaway slaves escape to freedom, by giving them food, clothing, and a place to hide from the slavecatchers.

For more on Plymouth Church and the anti-slavery movement, see Documents 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, and 105.

 

Citation - Document 12
Photographs: Churches. Plymouth. Renderings. Congregational
ca. 1860
Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Collection
www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/civilwar