The First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee was founded in 1842, one year after Rev. Joseph
Harrington of Chicago began an effort to spread the Unitarian faith to Milwaukee. William
Cushing, the first minister of the church, presided over the construction of the first
church building, located at the corner of Spring and Second Streets, in 1843. Within six
years, though, the initial fervor of the Unitarians subsided and, unable to pay the mortgage
of their new building, the group was forced to move out; the society seemed to fade away and
services became irregular and poorly attended. A revival of sorts occurred around 1856/1857,
when a new church building was put up on Cass Street. Interest in the society began to grow,
and in 1859 the society incorporated under Wisconsin laws. Attendance began to fall again in
the early 1870s due to the lack of a steady minister, but that problem was solved with the
installation of Rev. Gustavus Gordon in 1875. A period of affluence led to the construction
of a third church building, located on the corner of Astor Street and Ogden Avenue, in
1892.
The First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee has remained in that building for the past 110
years, through numerous renovations and ministerial changes. Membership increased so much in
the second half of the twentieth century that two branch churches were established, one in
Brookfield and another in Mequon.
For a more detailed history see And the Spirit Continues: The First
Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, 1842-1992 by Andrew S. Agacki (box 1, folder
1).
