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Historical Profile: Franklin Street CRC

Grand Rapids, Michigan

1887-1966

Franklin Street CRC was organized in 1887 by members of First CRC. Franklin St. was the sixth CRC congregation in Grand Rapids.

When the US-131 expressway was built in the early 1960s (see map link below), much of Franklin Street's neighborhood was removed. The congregation chose to merge with Rogers Heights in 1966.

Names

Holland Christian Reformed, 1887-1910
Fifth Avenue, 1910-12
Franklin Street, 1912-66

Location

460 Franklin St. SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49509 (built 1886?, addition 1889, new building 1921)

Interactive Google map showing church location.

Pastors

W. R. Smidt, 1888-1902
W. D. Vander Werp, 1903-06
Lambertus Veltkamp, 1906-18
A. W. De Jonge, 1918-21
B. Essenburg, 1921-25
Henry Baker, 1926-37
J. Gritter, 1938-48
J. H. Piersma, 1949-53
R. H. Haan, 1953-59
H. Sonnema, 1959-63
Jerome M. Julien, 1963-66, pastor of Rogers Heights after merger

Grandville Ave., 1891-1994
Grant Street Mission, 1909
Bethel, 1912-1994, cosponsored with Grandville Ave.
Hillcrest Chapel, 1947-92, later sponsored by Kelloggsville and First Hudsonville

Merger

Rogers Heights, 1966

Membership

Green (lower) line shows membership in families; blue (middle), professing members; red (top), total members; and magenta (thin), non-professing members. Note effect of constructing the US-131 expressway just blocks away in late 1950s.

Source: Yearbooks of the Christian Reformed Church. Dates are year prior to publication date since data is gathered at the end of one year and published in the next.

For more membership data, click here. View a map showing the Franklin Street location.

Go to Grand Rapids geographic index or chronological index.

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