Westminster Presbyterian Church, Fourth Street between Hennepin and Nicollet, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Westminster Presbyterian Church | |
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| Neighborhood/s: | Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| City/locality- State/province |
Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| County- State/province: |
Hennepin County, Minnesota |
| State/province: | Minnesota |
| Country: | United States |
| Year built: | 1865 |
| Historic Function: | Religious/Place of worship |
| Current Function: | Religious/Place of worship |
| Material of Exterior Wall Covering: | Stone |
"The church edifice, a plain yet comfortable and sufficiently commodious building, was
erected at an expense of nearly two thousand dollars.
It was located on Fourth Street between Nicollet and Hennepin Avenues, where the Vendome Hotel now
stands. It was a happy day when the "little flock" met for the first time in their own sheltering fold; a
day to be marked with a white stone ; and they erected their memorial in grateful recognition of the Divine
goodness. The Church was dedicated March 17, 1861. The Rev. J. G. Riheldaffer preached the sermon, from
Hebrews vi. 19, "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,
and which entereth into that within the vail."
[1]
The Minnesota State Women's Christian Temperance Union was founded in Westminster Presbyterian Church in September 1877, three years after the National Union and two years after the St. Paul Union was formed. The WCTU objective was "to carry forward measures which with the blessing of God will result in promoting the cause of total abstinence, and in outlawing liquor traffic." Saloons and taverns were chosen as targets for WCTU marches because they were seen as disruptive to the institutions of home and church. It was believed that the best way to eliminate human misery would be to eliminate liquor. At the height of the WCTU power, 45 years after the organization's founding and just before the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, the watchwords became "educate, agitate and organize."
Early organization of the WCTU was by congressional districts, each state district president becoming a state vice president. The work of the WCTU was carried on by 24 departments, among these were prevention, Americanization, medical temperance, Sunday school, scientific temperance, and instruction. The fulfillment of WCTU hopes came in 1920 with Prohibition.[2]
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