Local History

Religion

Portage Street Baptist Church

The marquee sign near the entrance of 1030 Portage Street reads “DEFINITELY NOT A CHURCH,” but for the first 130 years of its existence, it definitely was. Visitors are more…

African American Churches

List includes both active and inactive congregations Ministerial Alliance of Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1969 Allen Chapel A.M.E., founded in 1855 Bible Baptist Church, founded in 1968 First United Baptist Church, founded…

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church

Early Years Founded in 1855 by a handful of members, the Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church is the oldest black church in Kalamazoo. Prior to 1855, members met for prayer meetings…

Cathedral of Christ the King

Popularly known as ‘The Castle’, the Diocese of Western Michigan Episcopal Church voted to build the imposing structure at its spring convention in 1965. The diocese’s goal was to locate…

Congregation of Moses

The second Jewish congregation established in Kalamazoo focused on the teachings, practices and customs of Conservative Judaism. The Congregation of Moses, currently headquartered in their synagogue at 2501 Stadium Drive,…

Congregation of Moses Synagogue

One of the oldest buildings along E. South Street to have escaped the bulldozer was the home of the synagogue of the Congregation of Moses, one of two longtime Jewish congregations in Kalamazoo.

First Baptist Church

The history of the Baptists in Kalamazoo begins in the spring of 1826 when the Reverend Leonard Slater preached many sermons in a spot that is today...

First Church of Christ, Scientist

The Christian Scientists in Kalamazoo trace their beginnings to 1896 when four people came together to learn more about this religion, which began in the United States in 1879. Two years later the group had expanded to fifty, legally organizing...

First Congregational Church

The Congregational form of faith is deeply rooted in the history of Kalamazoo. The steady influx of Easterners seeking opportunity in Michigan Territory brought many to the village of Bronson, which would become Kalamazoo, for whom...

First Methodist Church

The First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo is the oldest congregation in the city. The church traces its origins to James T. Robe, a young Methodist circuit rider, who came to Kalamazoo in 1830 as part of a missionary effort known as the...

First Presbyterian Church

Records of the early First Presbyterian Church have been lost. What is known is that the church had its beginnings in 1834 when Titus Bronson, the founder of Kalamazoo, and his wife Sally began meeting with 12 other residents in a schoolhouse on...

First Reformed Church

Though not one of the oldest churches in the city, the story of the First Reformed Church in Kalamazoo reflects the development of Kalamazoo from a village to a city and the influence on the progress of that city and the church by Dutch immigrants...

Kalamazoo Church Fires

Between December 1925 and July 1926 there were fifteen major fires in the Kalamazoo area. The origins of these fires were never discovered, though it was thought that it was the work of one or more arsonists. Of the fifteen fires twelve of them...

Kalamazoo Islamic Center

Located at 1520 W. Michigan Avenue, the first religious organization to serve the city’s Muslim citizens has been a community mainstay since 1975, when a small group of students attending…

Kalamazoo's First Church Building

In 1836 the thriving village of Bronson, which would become Kalamazoo, had nearly 1,000 inhabitants. The Michigan Statesman listed it as containing sixty frame buildings, six stores, three “public houses,” nearly 40 people in the building trades...

Murder of Father O'Neill

In April of 1923, St. Augustine’s Church was the setting for one of the city’s most notorious murders, when the rector, Father Henry O’Neill, was shot and killed during his evening supper. This was no case of random violence...

People's Church

The People's Church, affiliated with the Unitarian-Universalist Association, took root in Kalamazoo almost in spite of itself. In 1855, when missionary Rev. D. A. Russell rode in on horseback to conduct services in Fireman's Hall and the...

Shrine of the Black Madonna, No. 7

Mural at The Shrine of the Black Madonna, Detroit, MI In 1977, a former grocery store building in the Northside Neighborhood was converted into a church called the Shrine of…

St. Augustine's

After Kalamazoo was organized and chartered in 1829, it took three years before the first Catholic mass was said in the home of Dennis Talbot, who was the first Catholic to settle in this region. He hardly settled in an area that tolerated...

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

St. Luke's Episcopal Church was formed the same year that President Andrew Jackson converted the Territory of Michigan into the State of Michigan, 1837. That was only eight years after...