A Brief History of the Union-Congregational Church

The roots of the Union-Congregational Church reach back to the very beginning of the community of Waupun, WI, encompassing a variety of people and religious traditions. The history of our Church bespeaks the fact that we are a "united and uniting" Church, both in our theology and in practice.  The word "Union" in our name equally proclaims this fact.

Spanning some one hundred and sixty years and counting the history of what today is the Union-Congregational Church began with the founding of the First Congregational Church of Waupun, by ten members in July 1845. The Congregational Church building was erected in 1852 on the corner of South Madison and East Jefferson Streets, where it remained until the present facility was constructed on Beaver Dam Street in 1958. 

Three other Waupun congregations, the Disciples Church (located at N. Mill and E. Franklin Streets), founded in December 1847, the First Baptist Church (located on the present City Hall site), founded in September 1845, and the Free Will Baptist Church (located originally at the present site of the Legion Hall, later the corner of N. Madison and Franklin streets), also share a "united and uniting" history.  The three congregations united to form the Union Church in June 1897. Twenty years later in June 1917, the Union Church and the First Congregational Church merged to form the present congregation, the Union-Congregational Church of Waupun.

In 1961 the Union-Congregational Church became a member of the United Church of Christ, itself a union of churches from across North America: the Evangelical and Reformed Churches and the Congregational-Christian Churches, founded in 1957.  Today the Union-Congregational Church remains in covenant with the Northeast Association of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ. Our denominational office is located in Cleveland, Ohio.