Celebrating 150 Years of Sacred Ground
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In 1868 a small group of dedicated free religious seekers purchased land upon which to build their Kenosha sanctuary. Three buildings, a library, a restaurant and 150 years later, we are now worshipping again in the space those founding Unitarians created for us.
Help us celebrate the sesquicentennial of our liberal religious sanctuary in Kenosha the weekend of November 3rd – 4th, 2018. |
Steeped in Kenosha HistoryUnitarians and Universalists have been a consistent presence in Kenosha from the very beginnings of the city.
In 1868, the newly-formed First Unitarian Society of Kenosha purchased land for a sanctuary on what is now 8th Avenue and constructed their first church. |
Second BuildingOur current worship space was constructed in 1907 by a congregation which featured a fiery, female minister in Rev. Florence Buck, and counted among its membership lauded Kenosha leaders such as Mary D. Bradford, Zalmon Simmons, and eventually, a young Orson Welles.
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Triumphant ReturnThe congregation fell on hard times in the 1920s, ending services and turning the building over to the city to become the Boys & Girls Library, which it remained until 1979. The building was then converted into a restaurant until a new generation of Unitarian Universalists founded a new church in Kenosha and purchased the building in 1993.
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