Congregationalism in Asia Collections Tour

CLA Archivist Billy McCarthy led this tour that explored the role 14 Beacon Street played in nineteenth-century mission work in Asia.

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), a missionary organization founded in 1810, was located at 14 Beacon Street during the nineteenth century.

The Congregational Library & Archives collections include many items related to missionary work in Asia, especially in places like Japan, China, and India. This tour included a variety of material like scrapbooks, pamphlets, letters, and more from this fascinating aspect of Congregational history.

Held in the CLA’s historic reading room at 14 Beacon Street, these monthly collection tours connected residents of Beacon Hill and the greater Boston region with original, rarely seen materials in the CLA’s collections.

This event began with a short talk by Billy McCarthy, followed by plenty of time for browsing items from our collections and asking questions.

Thanks to the generosity of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, these programs were offered completely free of charge to the public.