Plymouth Congregational Church (Louisville, KY)
(start date: 1877)The Plymouth Congregational Church was established in 1877; members initially met in a home in Louisville until an older Jewish synagogue was purchased on Jefferson Street. In 1891, Rev. Everett G. Harris became the pastor, and the American Missionary Association purchased land at the corner of Seventeenth and West Chestnut Streets, where a church was constructed in 1902.
In addition, the Plymouth Settlement House was completed in 1917; it was a social welfare agency that served children, had a dormitory for young women new to the city in search of work, and provided services to the community.
The Plymouth Congregational Church was a meeting place for African Americans of the middle and upper classes. A new church was constructed in 1930, referred to as the "New Plymouth." It has been said that the church was the most exclusive Negro church in Louisville.
For more see B. D. Berry, Jr., "The Plymouth Congregational Church of Louisville, Kentucky," Phylon, vol. 42, issue 3 (1981), pp. 224-232; and the "Plymouth Complex Individual Landmark Designation Report," 9/10/2020, at the Metro Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission website.
See a photograph of Children outside Plymouth Congregational Church, Louisville, Kentucky, 1930, at the University of Louisville Library Digital Collection.