MAP

In April of 1849 the Reverend Sylvester Woodbridge, a Presbyterian missionary, became the minister of the First Protestant Church built in California. Here, in a simple Gothic Revival style church, he preached on Sundays, conducted Benicia's first public day school on weekdays, and slept in a sailor's hammock in the building at night. Historians record that the reverend's sympathies with the South during the Civil War caused dissension among the members of his congregation, causing his departure and the eventual closing of the church in 1871. Today, the site is a City Park and gateway to Old Town Benicia.

This project was made possible by the Benicia Public Library, the Benicia Historical Museum, and the Benicia Historical Society through a NorthNet Library System Grant.