The First Congregational Church of Tulare was established as the first church in the tiny town of Tulare (population about 30) in 1874, spurred on by the arrival of the railroad. The church will celebrate its 150th anniversary from 12-4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13 with tours, food, face painting and games.
The first minister, Adam Lowry (A.L.) Rankin, came to Tulare after a long history with the Underground Railroad in his native Iowa.
A.L. Rankin’s father, John Rankin, was also a minister and established the family home on a bluff in Ripley, Ohio, because it overlooked the Ohio River which separated Ohio from the slave state of Kentucky. It’s estimated that over 2,000 slaves seeking freedom found refuge in the home, which is now preserved as a museum, according to Tulare church historian David Hamilton.
The Rankins were close friends of the family of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” When Beecher Stowe’s brother was asked after the Civil War who abolished slavery, he answered, “Rev. John Rankin and his sons did.”
A.L. Rankin served a church in Iowa, was a chaplain for the Illinois Volunteers during the Civil War and started a Black church before coming to California.
Railroad donates land
In 1839 the Congregational Church in Connecticut formed an abolitionist committee which became the American Missionary Association, the first anti-slavery society in the U.S. with multiracial leadership. It was this committee that sent Rev. A.L. Rankin to Tulare when the Southern Pacific Railroad announced a new terminus would be built there.
The first regular services were held in a 12-by-12 foot schoolhouse on Cross Street, with 15 persons, which represented about half of Tulare’s population.
The railroad arrived in 1873. When it completed its depot, Mark Hopkins, the general superintendent, granted the use of the waiting room for Sunday school and church services. Workers in the depot had orders not to do any unnecessary work during the church services.
The first church was formed in 1874 on lots donated by the railroad at the northwest corner of King and I streets. An able carpenter, Rev. Rankin designed and helped build the church, which was named The Church of the Redeemer. The bell for the steeple was given by the railroad employees.
There was early controversy. Rev. Rankin was not only a stout abolitionist but also part of the temperance movement. After about a year, he had alienated a portion of the population he called “spiritualists,” gamblers and rum sellers.
Current church
In August 1898, the church, along with most of its furnishings, was destroyed by fire, including the library, considered the finest and largest pastor’s library in California. It is unknown what became of the church bell. When the ashes cooled, it was gone.
Three lots for a new building were purchased for a total of $210 at the present site of 220 N. Tulare Ave. The church was finished and dedicated in February 1900. Eventually, it was renamed the First Congregational Church of Tulare.
Congregational churches have a long history of anti-slavery, suffrage and social justice, according to David Hamilton, who has accumulated much history and photos of Tulare’s early church.
“The history of the First Congregational Church is in many respects the history of Tulare, he said. “One hundred and 50 years later, the church still believes all are welcome and united by God’s love.”