The history of this fellowship dates back to 1842, when the Universalist Church of the Good Shepherd was founded in Racine. The early church boasted a number of Racine's most prominent citizens among its membership, including J. I. Case, N. D. Fratt, and Stephen Bull. The well-known suffragette and women's rights activist, Olympia Brown, became the state's first female minister in 1878, when she was chosen as the church's pastor. During her nine-year ministry, the church provided a forum for discussion of social issues, and a number of nationally prominent suffragettes were invited by Brown to broadcast their views from her pulpit. Brown's pastorate is illustrative of the liberal, non-doctrinaire ideals which served to unite Universalists in their faith.
Universalists were not alone in the 19th century in advocating religious beliefs unburdened by dogma; American Unitarians espoused a similar set of ideas. In 1865, Unitarianism came to Kenosha with the establishment of the First Unitarian Society of that city. Like its Universalist contemporary in Racine, the Unitarian fellowship was actively engaged in community affairs and interested in alleviating pressing social concerns. A variety of problems forced the Society to disband in 1926, but it was reestablished in 1953.
Steps toward the eventual merger of the Universalist Church of the Good Shepherd and the Unitarian Congregation in Kenosha began in 1955, as the former made preparations to unite with the American Unitarian Association and to assume a dual affiliation with both denominations. This move was effected in 1959. The Racine and Kenosha congregations merged officially in 1961, shortly after their national organizations did the same, and became known as the Unitarian Universalist Church of Racine and Kenosha. The congregation changed its name to the Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church circa 1988.
