The Grand Avenue Congregational Church of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was founded on February 4, 1847 as the Free Congregational Church, after the Milwaukee Presbyterian and Congregational churches excluded abolitionists. Rev. O.F. Curtis served as the first pastor, but after one year he was followed by Rev. W.L. Parsons. Mrs. Parsons opened a school first known as the Milwaukee Female Seminary which flourished and eventually became Milwaukee-Downer College.
The church's third pastor, G.W. Bassett, served less than a year. After this the church was without a pastor for almost two years until 1853 when Rev. J.G. Wilson became the minister. Following Wilson's resignation in 1854 the church building was sold, and the congregation was without a home and a pastor until 1857. This period, during which the congregation suffered as a result of its anti-slavery views, marked the church's low ebb and a conference of Christian brethren was called to consider if the church should continue. This meeting determined that its principles were correct and needed in the community, and with this support the congregation determined to erect a building of its own at Sixth and Spring streets. On February 2, 1858 Rev. William DeLoss Love was installed as pastor. He served until 1871 and was followed by Dr. George T. Ladd who served from 1871 to 1879.
This early period during which the church had six pastors in thirty years ended in 1880 when the congregation entered a period of growth and maturity. The next two ministers each stayed twenty years or more and were highly regarded. Dr. George H. Ide was pastor from 1880 to 1903, and Dr. Charles H. Beale was pastor from 1903 to 1924. Beale saw church membership grow from 612 to 1150 (including 200 members who joined when the Pilgrim Church merged with GAC in 1916). Church activities also expanded during this period and an assistant pastor was employed to supervise youth activities. In addition GAC achieved a national reputation and Beale was personally well known for his civic, political, and religious activities.
In 1924 Beale was succeeded by his son, Arthur Stanley Beale. His pastorate, which continued until 1934, was marked by increasing emphasis on men's activities, active participation in community affairs by the pastor, an extensive publicity campaign, and an increase in church membership to over 1500, its all-time high. However, stress produced by the Depression and internal divisions resulted in Beale's resignation in 1934.
The next pastor, Dr. Frank M. Sheldon, brought with him experience based on years spent as the superintendent of the Congregational Conference of Wisconsin and as secretary of the Congregational Educational Society and Sunday School and Publishing Society, as well as pastorates at a number of churches. Under his leadership GAC became more of a city-wide church, and while many members moved to distant parts of the city and the church neighborhood changed in character, membership remained stable.
Beginning in 1947 GAC was served successively by four pastors: Perry Avery (1947-1954), Donald Tarr (1955-1959), David Howell (1959-1966), and John Kelley (1966-1969). During this period the central city continued to change and membership declined and the church was forced to decide whether to remain at its Grand Avenue site or relocate. After extensive study of the issue, the congregation chose to retain its role as an urban church and it embarked on a fundraising effort to renovate its sixty-year old building.
Like many Congregational churches in Wisconsin, the proposal for a national merger with the Evangelical and Reformed Church was a source of discussion and dissension. However, the vote for merger prevailed, and GAC became a member of the United Church of Christ in 1961.
Published histories of the Grand Avenue Congregational Church prepared in 1907 and 1947 that offer more detailed accounts of the congregation's past are available in the first box of the collection.
