Central Congregational Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

The Central Congregational Society and Church was founded in 1854 and originally located at the corner of Fulton Street and Classon Avenue in Brooklyn, N.Y. Throughout the late 19th century, the church remained in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, and was led by the Rev. J. Clement French, the Rev. Dr. H. M. Scudder, and the Rev. Dr. A. J. F. Behrends, respectively. In 1900, upon the death of Dr. Behrends, the church selected the Rev. Dr. Samuel Parkes Cadman (1864-1939) as pastor. Dr. Cadman, a well-respected preacher, became the leading Congregational clergyman in the United States, as well as the first U.S. radio preacher.

In 1939, the Central Congregational Church was renamed in memory of Dr. Cadman. The church merged with the Clinton Avenue Congregational Church in 1942 at the latter's location, and afterward came to be known as the Cadman Memorial Congregational Church, presently located on Clinton Avenue at Lafayette Avenue in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn.

From the guide to the Records of the Central Congregational Society and Church, 1854-1945, (Brooklyn Historical Society)

The practice of Congregationalism in the United States began in the 17th century when Pilgrim settlers from England founded the Plymouth Colony in the southeastern portion of modern-day Massachusetts. Congregationalism slowly spread to New York as the Pilgrims migrated. Church of the Pilgrims, located in Brooklyn Heights, was the first Congregational church established in the city of Brooklyn in 1844. The neighboring Plymouth Church was founded in 1847, and was home to the famed Reverend Henry Ward Beecher. While Congregationalism flourished throughout the 19th century, membership in these Brooklyn churches declined in the mid-20th century. Plymouth Church and the Church of the Pilgrims consolidated in 1934, becoming Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, and many Congregational churches joined the United Church of Christ in the late 1950s.

From the guide to the Congregational churches of Brooklyn collection, 1847-1961, (Brooklyn Historical Society)