When Abraham Lincoln Came to Brooklyn Heights
- Andy McNeil
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
On Sunday, February 26, 1860, a tall Illinois lawyer walked into a church in Brooklyn Heights.
He was not president. He was not a senator. He was not even holding elected office.
He was Abraham Lincoln and he was on the edge of becoming one of the most consequential figures in American history.
The church he visited was Plymouth Church, led by the nationally famous abolitionist preacher Henry Ward Beecher. In 1860, this was not just a neighborhood congregation. Plymouth Church was one of the most influential pulpits in the country. Newspapers covered Beecher’s sermons. Politicians sought his approval. Reformers aligned themselves with his message.
If you wanted credibility in the anti-slavery movement, Plymouth was a powerful place to stand.
And Lincoln came here quietly, just one day before delivering a speech that would transform his political future.
The Telegram That Brought Him to Brooklyn
In October 1859, Lincoln received a telegram inviting him to speak as part of Plymouth Church’s lecture series. The church regularly hosted prominent thinkers, reformers, writers, and political leaders. It was known as a forum where serious ideas were debated and moral arguments were sharpened.
At the time, Lincoln was best known for the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates during the Illinois Senate race. Although he lost that race to Stephen A. Douglas, transcripts of the debates circulated widely in newspapers across the country. His arguments against the expansion of slavery had made him a rising figure in the young Republican Party.
He accepted the invitation and that decision would change everything.
February 26, 1860: Lincoln at Plymouth Church
Lincoln arrived in New York in late February 1860. On Sunday, February 26, he crossed the East River and attended services at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights.
Imagine the scene: Gas lamps, heavy winter coats, and the quiet murmur of a congregation gathering for worship. Henry Ward Beecher in the pulpit, already one of the most recognized religious figures in America.
And sitting in a pew: Abraham Lincoln.
Today, a plaque inside Plymouth Church marks the pew where Lincoln sat during that visit. It is a modest marker, easily overlooked unless you know to look for it. But it represents a fascinating pause in history, the day before Lincoln would step onto a much larger stage. At that moment, he was not yet the Republican nominee. Not yet the standard-bearer of the North. Just a visitor in a powerful Brooklyn church.
The Speech That Moved Across the River
Here’s the part that surprises most people: Lincoln’s major address was originally scheduled to take place at Plymouth Church.
Instead, it was moved to Manhattan and delivered at Cooper Union on February 27, 1860. There are different explanations for the change. Some accounts suggest concerns about crowd size and ticket demand. Others point to logistical considerations and the opportunity for a larger, more centrally located venue. Whatever the exact reason, the result was historic.
The Cooper Union Address was a carefully researched, intellectually rigorous argument about the Founding Fathers and their intentions regarding slavery. Lincoln systematically demonstrated that many of the nation’s founders had opposed the expansion of slavery into federal territories. The speech impressed Eastern political elites, newspaper editors, and party leaders who had been uncertain about this relatively unknown Midwestern candidate.
Within three months, Lincoln secured the Republican nomination for president. And less than a year after sitting in that pew in Brooklyn, he would be inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States.
Why This Brooklyn Moment Matters
History tends to spotlight the big speeches and dramatic turning points, but February 26, 1860 reminds us that those moments are often built on quieter foundations. Lincoln’s visit to Plymouth Church connected him to one of the most influential abolitionist communities in America. It placed him in direct proximity to Henry Ward Beecher and the moral energy of Brooklyn’s reform movement. It helped solidify his presence in New York political circles. Brooklyn didn’t host the famous speech, but it helped bring Lincoln to New York at exactly the right moment.
If you stand on Orange Street today, it’s worth remembering:
Before he was President Lincoln…
Before the Civil War…
Before Gettysburg…
He was simply Abraham Lincoln, sitting in a Brooklyn church, preparing for the speech that would change his life, and the country’s future.