Rev. McFarland was vocally against the forced removal of the Chinese community. He is mentioned in the Weathered Diary and there are articles about his opposition in the newspaper. Pastor McFarland was relatively new to Tacoma, having arrived in August 1885. Prior to the events leading up to the expulsion, he'd not had any dealings with the Chinese community.
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Predating the official founding of New Tacoma by eight months, seven people met with the regional Presbytery on July 27, 1873 to form "The Tacoma Presbyterian Church". This eventually became today's First Presbyterian Church. The financial crash of that year scattered many in the small congregation, but the church was reinstated on September 11, 1877. This church has a long history in Tacoma.
The first historic building on the Wedge Historic District walking tour is located at 1619 Sixth Avenue in Tacoma. This Gothic Revival style First United Presbyterian Church was designed in 1922 by two architects who were brothers, Stanley T. and Frederic Shaw. Historically this building has been a place for the community to gather.
The Mission-style Immanuel Presbyterian Church was designed in 1908 by architect Ambrose Russell. He is considered one of Tacoma's most prominent architects of historic buildings from the early 1900s.
Holy Rosary was formed in 1891 by German Catholics. Building lots were purchased at the current site and a small wood church was used for services. A parochial school was started in 1892. In 1912 congregational growth necessitated a new church. The old wooden church was closed and services were held for nine years in the school auditorium. The current church was dedicated in 1921.
Christ Episcopal Church was founded by the Reverend Lemuel Wells, as a daughter congregation of St. Luke's Memorial Church, then in downtown Tacoma. The new church, a Gothic building which seated 300, was named Trinity Chapel and was built for $8,000. The first services were held on the date of December 8, 1889.
Originally known as the First Baptist Church, and now known as Urban Grace Church, the original congregation incorporated with ten members on March 28, 1883. The Tacoma Land Company donated the original two lots to the congregation. A year later, on March 16, 1884, the first building was dedicated on the current site. The young congregation grew quickly and by 1891 made plans for a greatly enlarged church.
First Evangelical Lutheran Church
Tacoma Hongwanji Buddhist Church
First Congregational Church
First Church of Christ, Scientist
St. Rita Cascia Catholic Church
Center for Spiritual Living
New Jerusalem Church of God
Peace Lutheran Church
Central Lutheran Church
St. Paul Lutheran Church
Sixth Avenue Baptist Church
Church of St. Patrick
Epworth-LeSourd United Methodist Church
The first Slovakian immigrants arrived in Tacoma in 1888. Their numbers grew quickly to more than fifty families and in 1906 they petitioned the local Catholic Bishop for a church where services could be held in their native tongue. The congregation excavated the basement and laid the foundation themselves, with many parishioners working on the building after their regular daily duties were completed. It was the first Slovak Catholic church built in the Northwest, and at the time the only Slovakian Roman Catholic parish west of the Mississippi River. The church architect is C. Frank Mahon. Mahon was the architect for Holy Rosary Church in Tacoma, as well as St. Leo's Catholic School and Sacred Heart School at 45th & McKinley Ave (now demolished).
Built in 1873, Old St. Peter’s Church was one of the first churches constructed in Tacoma. Local residents constructed the building in only seven days at the urging and direction of the Right Reverend Benjamin Morris. In 1874, the church received a 965-pound bell from Philadelphia and workers converted a nearby tree into a makeshift bell tower to house the gift. The church has been serving the community since its founding, making this the oldest surviving building in Tacoma.
Kalevaria United Methodist Church
St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church
St. Paul's Methodist Church
First Christian Church
In 1874 Charles Wright, a railroad magnate involved with the Northern Pacific Railroad donated the downtown property for the church, which was then located at 602 Broadway. Wright also provided $30,000 for construction of the church. Wright is a familiar name to Tacoma residents. He is responsible for substantial donations to some of the city's best-known landmarks, including Annie Wright School, Charles Wright Academy, Christ Episcopal Church, the University of Puget Sound, and Wright Park. Wright's youngest daughter, Annie selected the Gothic Revival style architecture of the church. Originally built in 1883 at 602 Broadway, the church was dismantled in 1934 and reassembled brick-by-brick at its present location. The reconstruction started in 1935 and was completed in 1947.
Northwest Baptist Seminary
Temple Beth El
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
Manitou Park Presbyterian Church
Asbury United Methodist Church
This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.
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This driving tour will acquaint you with the numerous historic churches of Tacoma, their architects, and the various communities of people who established these houses of worship. It is an adaptation of a booklet previously published by Historic Tacoma.
