Religion and Belief | Page 3

Lower sanctuary

The sanctuary on the lower level of Watt Munisotaram’s main building, decorated for Khmer New Year. Photograph by Will Yetvin, April 10, 2016.

Upper sanctuary

The interior of the upper sanctuary in Watt Munisotaram’s main building. Photograph by Will Yetvin, April 10, 2016.

Front steps of Watt Munisotaram

The front steps leading to the entrance of Watt Munisotaram. Photo by Flickr user Coacoabiscuit, June 19, 2022. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Pilgrim Baptist Church, St. Paul

Pilgrim Baptist Church in St. Paul was the first African American Baptist church established in Minnesota. The congregation was founded during the Civil War, in 1863, by enslaved people who had escaped from Missouri, including pastor Robert Thomas Hickman. The church’s third building (732 West Central Ave.) was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

MN90: Pilgrim Baptist Church

Tugged along by a steamboat headed North from Missouri, a group of formerly enslaved African American men, women, and children arrived at Fort Snelling in 1863. They were taking their chances for a better life. Calling themselves Pilgrims as they headed up the Mississippi River, they arrived in St. Paul and formed one of the oldest African American churches in Minnesota. Allison Herrera tells us about Pilgrim Baptist Church.

Pilgrim Baptist Church, 1990

Pilgrim Baptist Church (732 Central Avenue West, St. Paul), 1990.

Rev. Dale Anderson outside Pilgrim Baptist Church

Rev. Dale Anderson (right) with Rev. David Wold (center) and LeRoy Cunningham (left) outside Pilgrim Baptist Church (732 Central Avenue West, St. Paul), March 28, 1974. Anderson and Wold played basketball for a local St. Paul team called the Preachers.