By Rodney Cobb and Irma West (1975-1984)
Edited by: Doris Simonis, Jeff Voeller, Kathyrn Young (2008)
Updated by: Peter Kosar (2010)
The first Unitarians in Sacramento are believed to have been New Englanders who came out to California during the 1849 Gold Rush, probably hoping to strike it rich as so many others were doing. Ten years would pass before the first recorded Unitarian meeting in that city, and almost another decade before the formation of its first Unitarian church.
Those early years in Sacramento were filled with turmoil. Settlers faced one catastrophe after another: devastating fires, repeated floods that almost wiped the town off the map, economic chaos, a horrible cholera epidemic; outbreaks of smallpox, malaria and many other diseases, not to mention the daily hardships and violence one would expect in a raw, frontier town. In his 1950 history of medicine in Sacramento, Memories, Men and Medicine, J. Roy Jones described those first two decades as “replete with a symposia of difficulties.” He went on to explain that “the nervous strain of those hectic days ... produced 4200 murders, 1400 suicides, and numerous deaths from dueling.” Of course, the whole nation was reeling from a bloody civil war and the assassination of President Lincoln.
To persist against such great odds required uncommon determination, courage, and resilience. (In his book, Jones praised the character of the charter members of the Sacramento Society for Medical Improvement — several of whom were also founders of the city’s first Unitarian Church that same year.) Moreover, in grappling with their problems, those pioneers became amazing innovators and problem-solvers. Who else would have ever thought of raising the street level of a whole city by 15 feet? Or changing the course of a river? Such desperate efforts took sheer gumption!
These qualities would stand our Yankee Unitarian church founders and their descendants in good stead, for they, too, would face many trials over the years. Time after time, financial crises occurred, some so severe that the church was forced to disband completely for up to ten years. Even in better times, the church was frequently in desperate need of more space than it could afford. Occasionally, citizens from mainstream Christian religions bombarded the local press with letters assailing the beliefs or practices of Unitarian Universalists. Over the years, dissension sometimes threatened to split the congregation into feuding sects. More than one minister left the church with less than warm feelings.
Yet there were always some who stepped forward as peacemakers and problem solvers. Seeking common ground, they persevered, stubbornly holding onto their dream of a flourishing liberal religion right here in River City. They raised or borrowed enough money to build one church — and then another. Some even acted as “Secret Angels,” digging into their own pockets to make up for shortfalls in church funds. Over the years, they worked together for social justice in their community, state, and nation. Many dished out meals to Sacramento’s hungry or raised money for local charities; others participated in Peace Marches or stood up for their beliefs in other ways. They laughed and played and learned together, often forming extended families with fellow church members. In good times and in bad, Sacramento’s Unitarians never gave up.
More than a century after the founding of the city’s first Unitarian church in 1868, retired botanist Rodney Cobb took on the daunting job of writing a church history. His Authorized History of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento, 1868–1970, was published in five installments between 1975 and 1982. Then in 1990, all five parts were published in one volume, edited by Elizabeth Austin.
Cobb persuaded Dr. Irma West, a retired physician, to take over as church historian and write the next installment. In 1996, her Authorized History of the Sacramento Unitarian Society, 1970–1984 was released. Funds from the sale of both histories benefited the church. Sadly, however, by 2006, only a few yellowing copies remained in the church archives.
The idea of reissuing both histories in one volume originated with church member Jeff Voeller, who felt that Sacramento area Unitarians could learn much from them. Kathryn Taylor agreed to lend her services as a graphic artist to put it all together. Others who gave their time and effort toward the project were Shirley Hines, Erika Kraft, Sally Campbell, Eliane Watson, Linda Hoganson, Fran and Jack Kennedy, Eileen Karpeles and the late Janis Dennis. Thanks to the hard work and determination of these volunteers, Sacramento’s Unitarian history is once more available to any who are interested.
In 2010, Peter Kosar republished the 2008 edition in electronic form, reformatting the layout, updating the timeline, taking care of some minor edits and adding several additional photos.
But the story doesn’t end there. What about the years since 1981? What happened then? Inspired by these earlier works, a movement is now afoot to interview old-timers who are willing to share their memories of what it was really like during the past quarter century. Stay tuned!
The histories that follow have been edited and slightly revised. In some sections, details about day-to-day activities of groups within the church were omitted or greatly condensed. For the most part, Rodney Cobb’s notes were maintained as well.