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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Then and Now: Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ

Present day: The Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ sits on the corner of Washington Street and Fourth Avenue and is a melding of diverse denominational roots and architectural flair. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
Present day: The Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ sits on the corner of Washington Street and Fourth Avenue and is a melding of diverse denominational roots and architectural flair. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo

Spokane’s Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ merged the traditions of the Congregationalists, Presbyterians and the United Church of Christ through more than 135 years of history.

Henry and Abigail Cowley left New York and traveled to serve as missionaries among the Nez Perce Indians in Central Idaho in the 1870s. They served alongside veteran missionary Henry Spalding, who had been among the Indians since the 1830s. The Cowleys and Spalding are said to have baptized 1,000 members of the Nez Perce and other tribes.

After the death of Spalding, the couple moved their young family to Spokane in 1874 and started a school. Cowley, the first white teacher in Spokane, offered free education to both whites and Indians and taught children and adults. Chief Garry of the Spokane Tribe also had a school at Drumheller Springs in north Spokane.

Cowley invited a small group of 10 believers to his home in May 1879 to found the First Congregational Church. Among the group were Chief Enoch Selquawia and his wife, who were Spokane Indians. Their first building was erected at Sprague and Bernard with $50 worth of lumber and labor from church members. A pot-bellied stove sat in the middle of the room. Those near the stove roasted, while those near outside walls shivered.

After a few years as pastor of the downtown church, Cowley left the pulpit, sold part of his homestead land, bought the Spokane Chronicle and ran it for four years. It was a weekly newspaper, and Cowley made it the city’s first daily. Henry Cowley worked in business, mainly real estate, until he died in 1917.

The church was lost in the 1889 fire. The congregation sold the site because of the demand for commercial property and decided to build a new church at Fourth Avenue and Washington Street on land sold to them by Chief Selquawia.

But a rumor started that Selquawia didn’t legally own the plot. And if he didn’t, it was open for homesteading. So 400 people quickly built squatter shacks on the property in hopes of claiming it. A judge ruled in favor of the Selquawia claim, brought police, crowbars and sledgehammers, and cleared out the squatters. The church, with a round tower, opened in 1891.

First Congregational, which was without a pastor in 1893, merged with Westminster Presbyterian, changing the name to Westminster Congregational and adding 72 new members to make it the largest church in town. At its peak, the church had 2,000 members.

In 1927, the round tower was rebuilt as a square edifice during a significant expansion to serve the growing congregation. In 1963, the church narrowly voted to join the United Church of Christ. Some who were unhappy with the change moved to Plymouth Congregational Church.

Today, Westminster United Church of Christ advocates for social issues and is part of a denomination that ordains women, gays and lesbians and affirms gay marriage.

– Jesse Tinsley