Union Baptist Church

Union Baptist Church: A Historic Pillar of Faith and Civil Rights

Founded in 1889, Union Baptist Church is one of the oldest Black congregations in Hartford. Its history is closely tied to the growth of the African American community and the early civil rights movement in Connecticut.

A Legacy of Faith and Resilience

The current Union Baptist Church building, located at 1921 Main Street in Hartford’s North End, was originally constructed in 1871 as the Memorial Church of St. Thomas, an Episcopal church built in honor of Bishop Thomas Church Brownell, the founder of Trinity College. By the 1920s, St. Thomas Church was struggling with low attendance. In 1925, the church was offered to Union Baptist Church, while St. Monica’s Episcopal congregation, a Black Episcopal church that had been meeting in a former Shiloh Baptist Church building, moved to a smaller church on Mather Street, which Union Baptist had originally built in 1908.

A Role in the Early Civil Rights Movement

Union Baptist Church and its leaders played a key role in civil rights activism in Connecticut:

• Reverend John C. Jackson, who became pastor in 1922, worked to open employment opportunities for African Americans and was instrumental in founding the Connecticut Inter-Racial Commission (now the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities) in 1943.
• C. Edythe Taylor, a member of the church, became Hartford’s first African American teacher in the public school system.

Recognized on the Connecticut Freedom Trail

Today, Union Baptist Church is listed on the Connecticut Freedom Trail, honoring its historic contributions to social justice, equality, and African American empowerment in Hartford and beyond.

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