Church Histories

An inventory of church records in DC is contained in the following publications, available at the Library of Congress, Washington Historical Society, and Washingtoniana Collection of Martin Luther King Library, among other sources: A Directory of Churches and Religious Organization in the District of Columbia, 1939, and Inventory of the Church Archives in the District of Columbia: the Protestant Episcopal Church, Washington Diocese. These two inventories were done under WPA auspices.

Research Tips: If the above publications cannot be accessed, the first port of call for obtaining old church records is to contact the relevant church, where the pastor or his or her secretary can generally provide information on where the older records are kept. In the case of a church no longer in existence, the best bet is to contact the relevant archive library, or other major institution for the denomination to find out the name and location of the successor church, if any, and where the old records are housed, although if this is not clear, a better bet might be to check the Washingtoniana Collection at the Martin Luther King main library (DC Public Library System) and the Washington Historical Society Library, Tel: (202) 785-2068.

The older houses of worship in the District include, but are not limited to, the following. Many thanks to Jane Donovan for contributions related to the Methodist Churches and Cemeteries of the DC & Georgetown area.

Episcopal

The Episcopal Diocese of Washington, Tel: (202) 537-6555 can advise on merging of churches, successor congregations and general local church history matters. For help with records of churches no longer in existence, contact Susan Stonesifer, Historiographer. In addition, transcribed records for many area churches are in the Genealogical Records Committee volumes for DC at the DAR Library.

Methodist

The Wesley Theological Seminary Library on Massachusetts Avenue, Tel: (202) 885-8695 has extensive collections on the history of the Methodist Church, including records of the former Methodist Protestant Church. They can generally advise where a church's name has changed, or on the name of a successor church when congregations have merged, and they have several parish membership rosters from the late 19th - early 20th century.

Roman Catholic

The Archdiocese of Washington, Tel: (301) 853-3800, can advise on early Catholic history, consolidation of parishes, dates of creation of new parishes and on the location of records. They can also assist genealogists tracking relatives who joined various Catholic religious orders. The Special Collections Division of the Georgetown University Library has extensive records of the early Catholic church in Maryland, specifically of the Jesuits. The early parish registers of Holy Trinity Church and the plot book of Holy Rood Cemetery are in this library.

Seventh Day Adventists

Archive in Silver Spring, MD , tel. (301) 680-5020. Has records of some member obituaries from Adventist publications.

Germanic Denominations

The Menno Simons Historical Library in Harrisonburg, VA , tel: (540) 432-4178, has some church records of interest to those with DC German ancestry, including records of the Reformed Church, Lutheran Church and Anabaptists in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, and can advise on the history of particular churches and potential successor churches.

Other Denominations

In the old book Reminiscences of the District of Columbia or Washington City Seventy-Nine Years Ago, 1830-1909 by early DC resident Sarah E. Vedder she mentions many of the old churches which existed in the DC area during the years that she resided there. Perhaps you will find one of the tidbits of information she related in her book helpful in your research.

Mrs. Vedder begins on page 69 of her book describing various DC churches of the period as follows:

At this time the churches were not very numerous. The oldest one, I suppose, was the Foundry, corner Fourteenth and G Streets. Dr. Laurie's Presbyterian Church, on F, between Fourteenth and Fifteenth. Rev. Obediah B. Brown's Baptist, on Tenth, between F and G, next north of the Medical College and in the neighborhood of Ford's theatre, where Lincoln was assassinated in after years. St. Patrick's Catholic, corner Tenth and G, with Female Orphan Asylum opposite, or nearly so. The Methodist Protestant, or Radical Church, on Eleventh Street, between F and G. I remember going to that church one Sabbath evening to listen to the Rev. Thomas Stockton, his subject was: "Beauties of the New Jerusalem." He was very tall and slender and, as he stood in the pulpit, looked ghostly. He held the attention of the congregation more than two hours. At any time you could have heard a pin fall. The people were packed like sardines in a box, more than three-fourths were standing. When he ended, his voice almost in a whisper, his arms elevated, he looked as if he were ready to ascend to the beautiful land he had so eloquently described. Everyone drew a long breath, or sigh, and retired from the church without remark.

Dr. Gurley's Presbyterian, corner New York Avenue and H Streets. St. Matthew's Catholic, corner H and Fourteenth. St. John's Episcopal, corner Fifteenth and a half and H, called Parson Hawley's Church. Asbury Chapel, Negro Methodist, northeast from St. Matthew's. Ryland Chapel, Methodist, in the "Northern Liberties." Union Chapel, Methodist, corner Twentieth and H. Colored Baptist Church, corner Nineteenth and T. The German Lutheran, on G, between Nineteenth and Twentieth. The Union Chapel and St. Matthew's were new, scarcely finished at this time. There was a Unitarian Church, and another, called the Metropolitan Methodist, in the neighborhood of the City Hall, or, on Four and a half street, in the eastern part of the city."

African Methodist Episcopal - John Wesley - 1850's
1615 14th St. NW
from Asbury in 1847, moved to present location in 1913; center of civil rights activism. Built in 1894 for St Andrew's Episcopal;
Architect: Murdock and Harding

African Methodist Episcopal - Metropolitan - 1854
1518 M. St. NW
Founded 1854 by breakaway congregations from two earlier churches: Israel Bethel A.M.E. and Union Bethel A.M.E.; now Nat. Hq. of A.M.E. Church.
Architect: Samuel T. C. Morsell

Baptist - Calvary - 1862
755 8th Street, NW
Architect: Adolf Cluss

Baptist - First Colored Baptist Church - 1833
19th and Eye, NW
In 1833, this congregation took over this site, which been originally occupied by DC's first Baptist congregation. In 1871-1975, the Nineteenth St. Baptist Church was based here until it was demolished to make way for office development.

Baptist - Shiloh - 1862
1500 9th St., NW
Congregation established in 1862 in various temporary facilities which migrated from Fredericksburg, VA. Permanent building built 1924.

Congregational - First Church - 1865
10th & G St, NW

Episcopal - Christ Church - 1794
620 G. St. SE
Congregation founded 1794, oldest in original DC boundaries north of river. The Church was started in Daniel Carroll's tobacco barn. Located on Capitol Hill at New Jersey Ave. near D St. SE. In the beginning "Preachers of every sect and denomination of Christians were there admitted--Catholics, Unitarians, Quakers with every intervening diversity of sect. Even women were allowed to display their pulpit eloquence, in this national Hall." wrote Margaret Bayard Smith.
Architect: Benjamin Henry Latrobe

Episcopal - Christ Church - 1767
N. Columbus St., between King and Cameron, Alexandria when it was part of DC (1800- 1846)
Est. 1767, oldest church in Alexandria. George Washington and Robert E. Lee's home church.
Architect: James Wren

Episcopal - Church of the Epiphany - 1844
Architect: John W. Harkness and Richard Upjohn

Episcopal - Grace - 1866
1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Georgetown
Mission to watermen on the C&O Canal

Episcopal - Meade Memorial Chapel - 1870
Old Town Alexandria 19th Century Black Episcopalian church

Episcopal - St Alban's - 1854
3001 Wisconsin Ave NW

Episcopal - St John's - 1794
3240 O St. NW, Georgetown
Congregation formed in 1794, founder Rev. Walter Dulany Addison. Built in 1809. Originally parent church of St. John's, Lafayette Sq.
Architect: William Thornton

Episcopal - St. John's - 1816
16th St. at Lafayette Square, NW
Called the "Church of the Presidents," significant architectural landmark.
Architect: Benjamin Henry Latrobe

Episcopal - St Luke's - 1879
1514 15th St., NW
One of the oldest remaining church buildings built for a black congregation.

Episcopal - St Mary's - 1886
728-730 23rd St., NW
for black Episcopalians from two other congregations, Church of the Epiphany and St.John's Lafayette Sq., Architect, James Renwick
Architect: Calvin Thomas Stowe Brent

Episcopal - St Paul's - 1712
Rock Creek Cemetery, Rock Creek Church Rd., NW
Oldest church in DC, built 1775. Congregation dates from 1712 of which the origins can be traced back to when the leaders of Piscataway Parish ordered their rector to preach at the Eastern Branch Church once a month.

Episcopal - St Paul's - 1830's
Old Town Alexandria
break-away congregation from Christ Church
Architect: Benjamin Henry Latrobe

Episcopal - Trinity Episcopal Church - 1851-1936
3rd & C St NW, demolished
Architect: James Renwick

Episcopal - Washington National Chathedral - 1906-1988
The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church.
Architect: George Frederick Bodley, Philip Hubert Frohman

Jewish - Adas Israel - 1870
701 3rd St., NW
Congregation est. 1870, building dates from 1873-76. Oldest Synagogue in DC, now a museum. Original congregation was a break-away from the Washington Hebrew Congregation, now housed in a much newer building

Jewish - 6th & I Synagogue - 1908
600 I Street, N.W.
In 1951 the congregation moved to a new building on Connecticut Avenue. Three local Jewish developers saved the historic building from being turned into a nightclub and restored it to its original roots as a synagogue.

Jewish - Talmud Torah - 1880
467 E St. SW. (near Maine Avenue, from the 1909 DC City Directory)
Rabbi Moses R. YOELSON was the first leader of the congregation. By 1914 he had been succeeded by Rabbi Moses A. HORWITZ. More information from "Washington at Home," Kathryn Schneider Smith, ed., 1988: "By the 1890s, Jewish immigrants were holding religious services with a cantor and rabbi, Moses Yoelson. In 1906 they dedicated a synagogue, the Talmud Torah congregation. One of the rabbi's sons, (later know as) Al Jolson, became a leading American entertainer."
Photo from Before the Bulldozers

Jewish - Washington Hebrew - 1852
3935 Macomb Street NW
The first synagogue in the nation’s capital was founded in 1852 in a home on Pennsylvania Avenue by 21 German Jewish immigrants. Washington Hebrew was established when the streets of D.C. were unpaved, and the Capitol building was only half-finished. In 1863, a church at 8th and I Streets NW was purchased and converted. In 1952 a new site was chosen for the present building on Macomb Street.

Lutheran - Concordia Evangelical - 1833
920 G. ST., NW
Established in 1833 by a German speaking congregation, the Church is the last within the old German community of Foggy Bottom. It is now known as the United Church. It merged with Union United Methodist Church in the 1970's.

Lutheran - First Trinity - 1851
501 4th St NW

Lutheran - Georgetown - 1770
Wisconsin Ave and Volta Pl, NW
Originally founded in 1770. Current building built on site of earlier church, which was built of logs. George Washington reportedly occasionally worshipped there.

Lutheran - Luther Place - 1873
1226 Vermont Ave., NW.
Architect: Judson York,
J. C. Harkness and Henry Davis

Lutheran - Zion - 1912
Corner of 6th and P St. NW
Only in existence from 1912 to 1918.

Methodist - Anacostia - 1871-1970
14th & U St SE

Methodist - Asbury - 1836
926 11th Street, NW
Asbury was established in 1836 when a small group of "Negro" worshippers elected to leave Foundry Methodist Church on 16th Street, in NW Washington, DC. The Church which is included in both The District of Columbia Inventory of Historical Sites and The National Registry of Historical Places, is located on its original site in downtown Washington, DC, at the corner of 11th & K Streets, NW.
Architect: Clarence Lowell Harding

[no photo of the Congress Street church]

Methodist - Congress Street - 1829
Founded in 1829 by a group of Methodist reformers who left the Montgomery Street Church (now Dumbarton). In 1951 Congress Street merged with Aldersgate Methodist Episcopal Church, Southand Mount Tabor Methodist Protestant Church to form St. Luke's United Methodist Church, located at Calvert Street and Wisconsin Ave. NW. [Note: Congress Street's archives have been deposited in the library at Wesley Theological Seminary and appear to be complete for 1828-1939]

Methodist - Dumbarton - 1772
3133 Dumbarton St., NW
Architect: William James Palmer

Methodist - Ebenezer - 1827
4th and D St., SE
Ebenezer United Methodist Church is Capitol Hill's oldest independent black congregation, founded in 1827 by blacks who left a biracial church on Capitol Hill because the white congregants practiced segregation. The members of the new church purchased land here and built a small frame structure, a model of which can be seen along the side of the church that faces Fourth Street. In 1864 Ebenezer gained its first African American minister, Reverend Noah Jones, and housed the city's first publicly financed school for black children. Emma V. Brown was one of two teachers at the school and is credited with being the city's first African American public school teacher.
Architect: William James Palmer

Methodist - Foundry - 1814
1500 16th St., NW
Architects: Adolf Cluss (1864) and Appleton Prentiss Clark (1894)

Methodist - Mount Vernon Place - 1850
In 1887, located on the corner of K and 9th Street, NW.
Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church was founded in 1850 as a local church in Washington, D.C. for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. What started with 50 members quadrupled in size until the Civil War when membership dropped significantly. After the Civil War, the church experienced a steady period of growth.

Methodist - Mount Zion - 1876
1334 29th St., NW Georgetown
Established in 1816; oldest known church in DC started by and for black people; active in underground railroad.

Methodist - National Methodist
Formerly Metropolitan Memorial, formerly at 4th & C Streets NW. Now located at the corner of Nebraska and New Mexico Avenues in upper NW Washington.

[no photo of the North Capitol Street church]

Methodist - North Capitol Street - 1876
corner of North Capitol and K streets Northeast

[no photo of the Piney Grove church]

Methodist - Piney Grove - 1898
started 1898, became Faith in 1908

[no photo of the Fifteenth Street church]

Presbyterian - Fifteenth Street - 1841
1705 Fifteenth St., NW
Historic early African American congregation, established in 1841. The noted abolitionist, Grimke, was the pastor here. Moved to present building in 1979, a former Christian Science Church built in 1918.

Presbyterian - First Presbyterian Church - 1827
formerly at John Marshall Place between C and D
The congregation was founded in 1827 and was attended by three Presidents. Demolished in the 1930's.

Presbyterian - National - 1883
Connecticut Ave & N St NW
Also known as the Church of the Covenant
Architect: J.C. Cady & Co

Presbyterian - New York Avenue - 1794
Historic church in Downtown Area

[no photo of the St. Andrews church]

Presbyterian - St. Andrews
10th and F, NW
Established in 1794, it was one of the first, if not the first churches in the new Federal City. It was demolished around 1900 to make way for the expansion of Woodward & Lothrop.

[no photo of the Georgetown church]

Presbyterian - Georgetown - 1782
Established in 1782 by Scottish worshippers. Founder was Stephen Bloomer Balch; served as pastor for 52 years. Formerly on M and 30th Streets, then moved to P Street in 1878.

Roman Catholic - Holy Trinity - 1794
36th and O Sts., NW, Georgetown
Oldest Catholic Church in Washington. Congregation founded 1794, current building dates to 1849. Old building still standing a block away, now Convent of the Visitation (convent not open to public) Old Parish records are kept in Georgetown University Library.

Roman Catholic - Immaculate Conception - 1864
8th Street and N Street, NW
Architect: Edward Clements

Roman Catholic - St. Aloysius's - 1859
19 Eye Street NW
Architect: Benedict Sestini

Roman Catholic - St. Ann's - 1866
4001 Yuma Street NW

Roman Catholic - St. Augustine's - 1858
1419 V St., NW
Oldest black Catholic congregation in Washington. Founded in 1858, first permanent building was built 1867. In 1961, congregation merged with St. Paul's, which had been on the V St., site since 1898

Roman Catholic - St. Dominic's - 1852
630 E. St., SW, Washingotn, DC
A Southwest DC Catholic community, served since its foundation in 1852 by the Dominican Friars
Architect: Patrick Keely

Roman Catholic - St. Joseph's - Capital Hill - 1868
2nd and C Streets, NE; Thanks to Casey Purcell who sent in this addition to the list of churches -- says it dates back to at least 1885 when his grandfather was baptized there.

Roman Catholic - St. Mary's - 1845
727 5th St NW
Architect: Baldwin & Pennington

Roman Catholic - St. Matthew's - 1840
1725 Rhode Island Ave NW
Architect: C. Grant La Farge

Roman Catholic - St. Patrick's - 1794
10th & G St., NW
Serving the Downtown area, second oldest Catholic church in DC, marriage records begin in 1807, baptisms in 1811, interments from April 15, 1860. Note: they have a volunteer who comes in once a week to deal with record requests.
Architect: Lawrence J. O'Connor

Roman Catholic - St. Peter's - 1821
2nd and C Sts., SE, Capitol Hill
Founded 1821, formed from St. Patrick's parish on land donated by Daniel Carroll, of Duddington Manor. Current church (second on site) built in 1889

[no photo of the St. Stephen's church]

Roman Catholic - St. Stephen's - 1867
2436 Pennsylvania Ave NW, 20037