Sands Street, between Fulton and Washington Streets Our tour starts here, where the Sands Street Methodist Church once stood. It was founded in 1794, the first of hundreds of Methodist churches to be founded in Brooklyn. People of color attended Sands Street, but they sat in a segregated end gallery, for which they had to pay. This church site is important, as it was here that black Brooklynites began to vote with their feet. In 1818, black congregants left the church, bought a parcel of land on High Street, and formed Brooklyn’s first independent African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church. Walk south along Old Fulton Street, aka Cadman Plaza West, to the intersection of Middagh Street. Cadman Plaza was created in the late 1930s, and replaces many blocks of residential and business buildings built in the early 1800s.

Middagh and Fulton Streets The inn that once stood here on busy Fulton Street marked the beginning of a procession led by the Brooklyn African Woolman Benevolent Society. The organization marched on New Year’s Day, 1819, from here to the AME Church on High Street to celebrate their efforts to promote emancipation and independence. This march took place eight years before slavery was abolished in New York State. Head west on Middagh toward Henry Street, turn left.

Henry and Cranberry Streets The Apprentice’s Library was founded in 1824, under the leadership of Augustus Graham, a wealthy manufacturer of lead products. The organization allowed young men who lacked a formal education to better themselves through the use of the library. No evidence exists that African Americans were able to take advantage of this great resource. The Brooklyn Savings Bank, founded in 1827, operated for many years out of the basement of the Apprentice’s Library. Adrian Van Sinderen was the president of the bank and also led the Brooklyn branch of the American Colonization Society. The organization sought to send black people to Africa as its members feared a culturally diverse nation with true equality. Walk down Henry Street one block to Orange Street and turn right, going halfway down the block. Plymouth Church is on the right.

57 Orange Street Plymouth Church was founded in 1847, and Henry Ward Beecher, one of the most famous abolitionists in the country, was its first minister. From the pulpit of this church, the fiery and controversial minister condemned the institution of slavery and those who practiced it. The church was built in the amphitheater style to accommodate the crowds who came to hear him. People flocked from Manhattan in such large numbers that the Fulton Ferry was apparently nicknamed “Beecher’s Boats.” Beecher also conducted “auctions,” raising funds to free enslaved girls. Reminiscent of slave auctions, they whipped up frenzied outrage and generated significant donations. Under Beecher’s direction, the church gained a national reputation as a bastion of abolitionism. From Plymouth Church, walk west on Orange to the corner of Willow Street, a block and a half. Turn left on Willow, and walk half a block down to 70 Willow Street, on the right.

70 Willow Street Van Sinderen was a respected and wealthy businessman and financier. He built this house in 1839. It is one of the oldest surviving houses in Brooklyn Heights. In 1831, Van Sinderen was made the head of the Brooklyn American Colonization Society. The organization attracted some of the city’s most well–known and influential men. They proposed sending free people of color to colonies in Africa. Ironically, Van Sinderen was the employer of one of Brooklyn’s most effective and articulate black abolitionist leaders, James Pennington, who worked as his coach driver. FYI: This house is best known as the Brooklyn home of writer Truman Capote, who had a basement apartment here between 1955 and 1965, during which time he wrote In Cold Blood. From the Van Sinderen home, continue walking down Willow Street a block and a half to Clark Street. Turn left towards Hicks Street.

Clark and Hicks Streets, exact address unknown Henry C. Bowen, a wealthy silk and dry goods merchant, was one of the founders of Plymouth Church. Bowen was the son–in–law of Lewis Tappan, another well–known abolitionist who resided in Brooklyn Heights. In 1848, Bowen and three others founded the Independent, a publication designed to promote the Congregational Church’s anti-slavery stance. Continue walking down Hicks Street, stopping at the large apartment building at 153 Hicks Street.

Hicks Street, between Pierrepont and Clark Streets This apartment building stands over the site of the Mansion House Hotel, a popular lodging place for travelers. In 1842, Brooklyn police arrested Edward Saxton here after he was accused of being a fugitive from Mobile, Alabama. Saxton did not receive a trial and was sent to a Baltimore jail, where he was presumably sold into slavery. Backtrack to Clark Street and make a right, walking to Henry Street. Turn right and stop at the First Presbyterian Church.

126 Henry Street Not all of Brooklyn Heights pastors were abolitionists. Reverend Henry Van Dyke at First Presbyterian Church declared that, “Abolitionism is evil and only evil.” He blamed the abolitionists for the Civil War and the dissolution of the country. Walk down from the Presbyterian Church to the corner of Pierrepont Street. Our destination is 86 Pierrepont Street, on the SW corner.

86 Pierrepont Street Lewis Tappan was a successful Manhattan merchant, religious reformer, and ardent abolitionist. He worked closely with his brother Arthur, another Brooklyn Heights resident, in these efforts. Lewis founded a mixed congregation church in Manhattan called the Chatham Street Chapel. Both the church and his home were attacked during the anti–abolition riots of 1834, his furniture and other personal belongings taken out into the street and burned. Tappan moved to Brooklyn Heights in the 1840s, where he lived until his death in 1873. At least one fugitive—14–year–old Ann Maria Weems—sought refuge here on her journey from slavery to freedom. Tappan’s wife Sarah was also an active abolitionist. Their daughter Lucy Maria married Henry C. Bowen, whose home we visited earlier in the tour. Another daughter, Julianna, was an officer in the Ladies New York Anti–Slavery Society. Continue down Henry Street two blocks to the NE corner of Remsen Street.

113 Remsen Street, now Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral In 1844, Henry C. Bowen, a New England transplant, founded the Church of the Pilgrims. Reverend Richard Salter Storrs, the church’s pastor, spoke frequently to his congregation about the sin of slavery. Storrs was also prominent at the Long Island Historical Society (now the Brooklyn Historical Society), founded in 1863. Turn right on Remsen Street and proceed to the end of the block. Our next stop is 150 Remsen Street, the brick apartment building on the NW corner.

Remsen and Clinton Streets This was once a fashionable boarding house that belonged to Elizabeth Gloucester. Gloucester and her husband, Reverend James Gloucester, founder of Siloam Presbyterian Church, were leaders of the anti-slavery movement. They were radical abolitionists and donated money to John Brown to raid Harpers Ferry in Virginia. They also contributed money to build Siloam Presbyterian Church and to African American institutions, such as the Colored Orphan Asylum. Elizabeth was a skilled financial investor, especially in real estate, and she died with assets worth more than $2 million in today’s money. Now turn left and follow Clinton Street to Montague Street. Turn right and proceed halfway down the block. Stop at 186 Montague Street.

Montague Street, between Court and Clinton Streets You are standing in the middle of what was once the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s great hall. The hall, which took up almost half the block, was Brooklyn’s premiere venue for concerts, lectures, and rallies. On May 15, 1863, as the Civil War raged, Frederick Douglass spoke to a packed audience here. His talk was entitled “What shall be done with the Negro?” He argued that the only just solution was for African Americans to become full and free American citizens, with all of the rights and privileges enjoyed by whites. His speech, often interrupted with applause, was very well received. Continue walking down Montague towards Court Street and Borough Hall. Stop at the corner of Court and Montague Streets.

Located opposite City (now Borough) Hall Montague Hall was located on what is now the plaza in front of Borough Hall, approximately where the subway station stands. Built in 1845, it was a popular assembly and lecture hall, especially for reformist groups. In February 1860, Montague Hall was the site of a four–day fair, organized by Elizabeth Gloucester and other Brooklyn women, to raise funds for the Colored Orphan Asylum, an organization that supported African American children and families. Make a right turn at the corner of Montague and Court Streets and walk down two blocks to Joralemon Street. Walk halfway up the block to Packer Collegiate Institute, on the left.

170 Joralemon Street, now Packer Collegiate Institute The Brooklyn Female Academy was founded in 1846 to educate Brooklyn’s elite young ladies. A few months after it opened, Henry Bibb spoke to a full house about his experience as an enslaved person in Kentucky. He vividly described the horrors and degradation of slavery and quickly gained a national reputation as an abolitionist speaker.