The following history was taken from the Franklin Street church's

40th, 50th and 75th anniversary booklets. This includes the early

history, names of pastors and officers, and the membership list

(including childrren) along with the place of residence.

Due to a fire which destroyed the church in 1921, there are only a

few birth, marriage and death records.

The charter members of our church were affiliated with the Spring

Street Church, and in the summer of the year 1886, the consistory of the

First Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, to fill a long felt

need, built a fram edifice to serve as a "hulp-kerk" on Fifth Avenue

between Grandville and Oakland Avenues. Our people met here regularly

and were seved by students and ministers. The enterprise was so

successful that in the early part of 1887, thirty-nine families applied

for the organization of a congregation at a meeting of Classis. The

request was granted and on March 8, 1887, Reverend J. H. Vos, of Spring

Street, and the Reverend L. J. Hulst, of Coldbrook, effected the

organization of the Fifth Avenue Holland Christian Reformed Church,

which was the fifth of our denomination in the city.

Those who signed the Articles of Association were -

Walter Ten Haaf Berend Schrikkema Sibbel Froentjes

Dirk Spyker Gerrit Van Eyck Epp. Wiers

William Olthuis Harm H. Plesscher A. C. Tuinstra

John W. Ten Haaf Hero Til Andrew Dekker

Roelof Gust J. Broersma T. Gutter

S. Van Dyk Jan Sjerda S. Olthuis

J. Ballast Albert Venema Martin Hoekstra

Sietse Bos G. J. Kossink Jacob Groendyk

A. Fryling J. Verhey Jan Jansen

A. Miedema Klaas Dood Pieter Wiersma

H. Van Ham Abel Boerema Euwke Spoelstra

S. Zandstra C. Beusekamp Pieter Pietersen

Willem Van Houw John Spyker Martin Jelsema

Some of the first consistory members were -

Elders - J. W. Ten Haaf, Willem Van Houw, Sietse Bos and Harm Plesscher

Deacons - Hero Til, Wm. Olthouse, Roelof Gust and Jacob Groendyk.

Other early members include Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Vander Bie. One of

our faithful members was Miss Martha Ten Haaf who taught Sunday School

Class on the very first morning service held in our church and continued

to do so for over 50 years. She led the Girls' Society for 18 years and

was president of the English Ladies' Aid for 14 years.

At the time of organization, Hall Street was the southern limit of

the city. Grandville Avenue had a horse car line to Hall Street. The

streets were not graded or paved. Across the street from Franklin

Street south, lay the Rumsey farm, chiefly a pasture for cattle. Here

and there houses had been erected. South of Hall Street the territory

was thinly populated and the writer remembers in 1892 in company with

his grandfather, wading through mud and pools to the home of a relative

who lived in the neighborhood of Vries Street.

Soon after organization attempts were made to procure a pastor to

shepherd the flock. The first call was extended to Rev. R. Drukker of

Passaic, by a congregational meeting held May 30, 1887. The salary was

$700.00. Mr. Tangenberg was engaged as janitor at $50.00 per year.

After many fruitless attempts, the Rev. W. R. Smidt accepted the

call to become our minister on December 23, 1888.

The congregation had been continually growing and within six months

of Rev. Smidt's arrival, the congregation accepted a proposal by the

consistory to build a 40' by 60' addition to the church making the

seating capacity 700. An organ was purchased in August, 1891 for

$250.00. By 1896, it was decided to purchase a second-hand organ for

not more than $600.00. There were some problems in finding a place for

the newly purchased organ.

The first years of congregational life were not very peaceful.

Matters that to our mind were mere trifles, caused friction and much

trouble. Mistakes in conduct and errors in judgment were made to appear

as great crimes. Despite this, the congregation grew and large numbers

made confession of faith.

Rev. Smidt remains as pastor for nearly 14 years. In May, 1903,

Rev. W. D. Vander Werp became pastor. Strife and contention ceased.

Due to his leadership, good will and peace reigned. Rev. Vander Werp

accepted a call to Zeeland I and left October 7, 1906.

Rev. L. Veltkamp succeeded Rev. Vander Werp in November, 1906 as

our third minister and remained eleven and one-half years. A new organ

was purchased shortly after his arrival.

The first parsonage was built in 1887. In May, 1913, the

congregation decided to sell this building and build a new brick

parsonage on the site which was to cost no more than $5,000. Mr.

William Korlaar erected the new building at a cost of $4,657.75.

In 1918, Rev. Veltkamp accepted a call to Coldbrook (now Beckwith

Hills CRC) and was replaced in the summer of 1918 by Rev. A. W. De

Jonge.

1918 was a difficult time. Our young men were serving in the war

and the flu epidemic brought grief to many families. Soon after the

was, the strong current of Americanization caused many members to clamor

for an English service. Many families left to join churches which had

not language problem and left a distinct loss to Franklin Street.

The Mission Church on Grant Street was erected during this time.

Rev. A. W. De Jonge left our church and denomination in April,

1921.

On Saturday, July 9, 1921, the church edifice burned to the ground.

People were discouraged and there was no minister to lead us. Rev.

Veltkamp, a former pastor, led the meeting in which it was decided to

erect a new building. The new building cost about $40,000 of which

$9,000 was recovered from the insurance company.

Shortly before the fire, a call had been extended to Candidate

Benjamin Essenburg, and in the fall of 1921, he became our minister.

The church debt was paid, services were well attended and by the time

Rev. Essenburg accepted a call to Drenthe, the congregation reached its

climas in numbers with 240 families.

The Rev. H. Baker, our sixth pastor, came from Second Roseland

Christian Reformed Church in January, 1926. Rev. Baker's daughter,

Antoinette, was called home by the Lord in August, 1933. During the

depression years, the offerings were considerably lessened, resulting in

sacrifices by the poor as well as a reduction in the pastor's salary.

Rev. Baker left in 1937 to become Home Missionary at Large.

The Rev. John Gritter became our seventh pastor coming to us from

Rock Valley, Iowa in 1938. He remained with us for ten years and in

October, 1948 acceptedd the appointment as missionary to the Immigrants

in Canada. He was presented with a new automobile and sizeable purse at

his farewell.

The first ten years of mission activity was carried on in temporary

quarters by volunteer workers under the leadership of John Bult. In

1922 the Grant Strret Mission Chapel was built. Our first mission

worked was Miss Katie Scheepstra (Mrs. J. DeBoer) whose ministry ended

in 1928. Miss Gertrude Holkeboer succeeded her in the fall of 1928.

Subsequent evangelists have been Miss Lillian Bode and Miner Tanis. In

1946 the need for a new location was evident. A new edifice was built

on Coit Hills, now known as Hillcrest Chapel and was ready for use in

1949. After Mr. Tanis left, Robert Holwerda was the evangelist until

1960 and Henry Vander Bilt is our present mission worker.

On July 3, 1949, Rev. John Piersma came to us from Oostburg,

Wisconsin. The organ was modernized, new pipes and a set of chimes were

added, and new choir pews, pulpit and pulpit chairs were purchased.

Rev. Piersma accepted a call to Oakdale Christian Reformed Church and

preached his farewell on March 15, 1953.

Rev. Raymond Haan arrived a few months later. Due to the excessive

noise in the area, it was decided to build a new parsonage on Pontiac

Road SE. The old parsonage was converted into a rest home. During Rev.

Haan's ministry, many families moved to suburban areas and affiliated

with churches in their vicinity. He was an able pastor. In March,

1959, he accepted a call to the congregation in Bundy, Minnesota.

Our tenth pastor, Rev. Harold Sonnema, arrived in September, 1959

from Lake Worth, Florida. His arrival brought new life to the

congregation and there has been some increase in numbers as well.

This information is through the first 75 years of Franklin Street

Christian Reformed Church. In the 1960's, it became apparent that the

church could not survive due to the decrease in membership, and the

members joined with the newly formed Rogers Heights Christian Reformed

Church which is located on Michael Street one block south of 28th

Street.