UUSS History (1868 – Present)
Unitarians have been a part of Sacramento since 1868 when the first recorded Unitarian meeting was held here. It was a rough and tumble time back then, but the group of settlers that attending this first meeting persevered and eventually formed the first Unitarian Society of Sacramento. They met in rented halls for almost 50 years before their numbers and resources grew enough to build their own church in 1915. Another 50 years would pass before the Sacramento Unitarians outgrew their wonderful little church in town and put the plans in place to build a new church and Sunday school complex. When the main auditorium was completed in 1960, the congregation moved to its current location on Sierra Boulevard. The school buildings were added the following year and in 1965, they changed their name to the Unitarian Universalists Society of Sacramento (UUSS).
In 1975, Rodney Cobb took on the task of compiling the history of Unitarians in Sacramento by publishing the first of a five-part series that year. Rodney completed the fifth part of his series in 1970. Since then, several other members and friends of UUSS have added to this history and republished it eventually leading to the 2008 publication of In Good Times and in Bad, The Story of Sacramento’s Unitarians, 1868-1984. In 2010, this latest version of the history was transcribed for the UUSS website.
Use the links to the right to read the latest version of our history. It currently contains 63 chapters divided into six parts. Be sure to check out the Slide Show — it contains historic photos dating back to the earliest days of the Society.
You can also download a 3.5MB PDF version of In Good Times and in Bad, The Story of Sacramento’s Unitarians, 1868-1984.
UUSS History Project
The history of UUSS did not stop in 1984 — many events have happened since then and will continue to happen in the years and decades to come. This is where we need your help.
If you have a story or old photo about an event, project or member that you would like to add to the UUSS History, please contact Jeff Voeller or Peter Kosar.
We are especially looking for stories since 1984, but if you want to add or update a story from earlier years, please send them to Jeff or Peter as well.
