Laying the foundation: 1854-1904

Santa Rosa in 1854

Santa Rosa was very much a frontier town in a frontier state in 1854, yet the folks who came to live here were seeking to establish a settled and stable community. America in 1854 was deeply divided by regional and cultural differences. We were a land of immigrants who often didn't care for the ethnic groups who lived close by. Our growing urban centers reflected a lifestyle far different in both economic and social endeavors than the simple mode of living in the large rural areas. Although a generally religious nation, the various churches around the country differed greatly in their approach to worship and service, and often bickered incessantly.

Political strife was a fact of life. Sonoma County was a hotbed of volatile political feelings. It was here that the Bear Flag Revolt occurred, where Sonomans had declared their independence just a few years before, ushering California from a sleepy province of Mexico to the western outpost of the United States. It was here also that jealous Santa Rosans slipped into the courthouse in Sonoma during the middle of the night, stealing the county records, bringing them to Santa Rosa, after holding a contested election that declared Santa Rosa the seat of county government.

Our Church in the Early Years

Into this culture and setting twelve recent immigrant families began to congregate and form what is now the Santa Rosa Christian Church. These founding members were united by their belief in Christ and their common commitment to the principles of the "Restoration Movement". Popularly called "Campbellites", because two of the earliest leaders were Thomas and Alexander Campbell, father and son, this movement began during the great frontier revivals in the South and Midwest in the 1820's and 1830's. The movement stressed Christian unity and personal spiritual renewal. Eschewing the denominationalism of the day, which often featured bitter feuds between churches, they sought to restore both the form and the spirit of New Testament Christianity. They formed independent local congregations using as their rule the "plain Gospel of Christ", looking to the Bible rather than tradition as their guide. A popular motto for the movement was "We speak where the scriptures speak: where they are silent, we are silent". Believers usually took the name "Disciples of Christ" or "Christian Church" for local meetings. Adult baptism was practiced, as was weekly communion, unusual for Protestant Churches at the time (and today as well!).

When the word spread that a group of Restoration believers had settled in the Santa Rosa plain, two leaders of the movement in California, Thomas Thompson and John McCorkle, decided it was time to take them under their wings. Thompson, a gifted organizer, was considered the father of Restoration Christian churches in California after founding a number of meetings in the north state. He had met McCorkle when the young, fiery frontier preacher moved to Napa in 1852. Together they had a tremendous impact, with McCorkle's preaching and Thompson's people skills.

The First Church Meetings in Franklin

The new Santa Rosa Christian Church first met in the tiny settlement of Franklin, located near where Montgomery Village is today, in a building erected by the Baptists in 1853. The charter members included Thomas B. Hood, a prominent merchant and local leader; James Fulton, a large landowner after whom the town of Fulton was named; Harrison Valentine, Coleman Talbot, and RichardFulkerson, all landowners who have streets named after them today in Santa Rosa; along with J.M. Case and Samuel Hand and their families.

Moving to Santa Rosa

By 1856 it was clear that Santa Rosa and not Franklin was destined to grow into a city and the little meeting house was moved by six yoke of oxen to the corner of 3rd and D Streets. Feeling constrained by sharing the building with the Baptists, the fledgling congregation moved to the county courthouse until they were given a lot to build a place of their own by Santa Rosa's first citizen Julio Carrillo. They traded this for a lot on B Street between 4th and 5th Streets and in 1857 they erected the first building of a Campbellite congregation in California. Though remodeled several times and even moved once, to 429 5th Street, this first building served the congregation for many years.

Pastor John McCorkle was probably the best known and most popular preacher in California during the early days of the church. Not only did he serve SRCC for ten years, but along with Thompson established sister groups in Geyserville, Healdsburg, Yountville, and Napa. He was the typical frontier preacher of the day; long beard, dressed in homespun cloth, delivering fiery sermons often outdoors. An account of the day states that when he did speak in a building his sermons could be heard "outside and far down the street."

The Restoration Movement and SRCC

Because of the rural roots of the Restoration Movement, yearly camp meetings were regularly held as early as 1855 for anyone who cared to come across northern California. These "tent revivals" were extremely popular with many arriving from even hundreds of miles away. In 1860 SRCC hosted the first of five such meetings that would be held locally until the late 1870's. It took place at "Big Plains", where today Fulton Road crosses Mark West Creek.

At this meeting the first statewide statistics on the other Restoration Churches in California were gathered, and SRCC was shown to be the largest congregation. In all, over 5000 attended this week-long meeting, with much singing and eating ("22 beeves (sic) were barbecued, along with mutton and pork") and over 100 baptisms.

1860 also is remembered as the year our great Civil War began. Although California was officially a Union State without slavery, Sonoma County was a hotbed of Pro-Confederacy sympathies. Santa Rosa in particular, being settled with a majority who came originally from the South, favored succession.

The Restoration Churches like SRCC, however, were strongly Pro-Union and anti-slavery. In fact, many adherents to the Campbellite creed were forced to flee the South and a large number ended up in California. Most of the older Christian denominations in America were split by the war, but the Christian Church movement was not. Fortunately, even though differing with a majority of Santa Rosans, the church membership here kept the peace, with no record of any problems with locals in the turbulent 1860's.

Christ-Centered Education

Our congregation showed a particular interest in education from the earliest days. The first public school in Santa Rosa met in the church in 1859, and continued there until a public school building could be completed. By 1870, church leaders had a strong vision that they, as one of the leading Restoration Churches in the state, should establish a Christ-centered higher education facility that could serve the movement in California. The membership prayed for direction, and persuaded a renowned Christian educator, Alexander Johnston, to move from Indiana with the aim of building a college. He raised over $25,000 toward that aim (with over $13,000 coming from Santa Rosa alone), and on September 23rd, 1872, Santa Rosa Christian College was dedicated, with 80 students enrolled for the first term.

During its short life, the school would graduate a number of notables, including Edwin Markham, who would become Poet Laureate of California. The church had an agreement with the school that it would supply the congregation with a pastor, which it had lacked since Brother McCorkle had left in 1864. Unfortunately, the economy in the 1870s was poor and the college could never pay its way. After only 6 years it was sold to the Catholic Ursuline Sisters, who then founded the institution that is known today as Ursuline High School.

Santa Rosa Christian Church Incorporates

With increased prominence and outreach, we faced several challenges related to growth. Because of the belief in local control and independence that the Restoration Movement held, the church had never bothered legally incorporating. There was no official Constitution or By-Laws. This was finally remedied in 1894, and we still have the original handwritten Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws in our church archives. At the very first official meeting after incorporation, on April 14th, 1894, the newly elected Board of Trustees voted to build a much larger new building on a lot now owned by the church. SRCC had grown from its frontier roots and was becoming an established and prominent institution in the center of its city.

The New Church Building

The board hired well-known E.B. Ware as pastor in 1894 to oversee the transition. A former State Evangelist for the Christian Churches of California who had personally baptized over 2000 persons and editor of a highly respected Christian newspaper, Ware wasted no time in raising funds and making plans. In a two year period over $22,000 was raised and a beautiful new building was constructed on Ross Street which was home to the church for nearly 60 years. Dedicated on June 7th, 1896, the fine new building guaranteed that SRCC would be one of the largest and most prominent local congregations for many years.

Changes Within Our Church

Then, right at the point where the church seemed most secure, a most unexpected controversy erupted. Pastor Ware retired in late 1896 and the board called a young, dynamic preacher named J. William Hudson as pastor. Hudson was a spell-binding orator and considered very progressive in an era where new ideas were everywhere and change compelling. He quickly gained the fierce loyalty of quite a few members and attracted many nonmembers to listen to his sermons condemning social condition as they existed. More conservative members questioned his thinking however, and when confronted over his beliefs it was discovered that he didn't believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures or the Deity of Christ, and embraced Socialism. A vote was then taken on whether to renew his contract and he was removed as pastor by a single vote in 1898. He left to start a new "Peoples Church" in Berkeley, taking nearly 100 SRCC members with him.

The Church Rebounds

Despite the loss of members and the emotional aftermath of the split, the church rebounded quickly. A new pastor, Peter Colvin, was called who was able to bring peace to the congregation and set about to repair the spiritual damage. The church celebrated its 50th anniversary in a ceremony that was reported as front page news in 1904, being hailed as the largest Protestant church in Santa Rosa. We still have a memento of that celebration; the beautiful commemorative quilt that was presented by the membership to Josephine Grogan on that occasion.