Halloween in Flatbush, ca. 1905, v1992.21.1; Thelma E. Smith collection on the William Matthews family genealogy, ARC.091; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Pictured here are members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Women’s clubs and organizations often organized fairs and festivals to support their churches and engage parishioners. St. Paul’s Church mirrored the rapid growth of Brooklyn in the early twentieth century. When the Reverend T. G. Jackson became preacher in the 1880s, the church had fewer than 100 members. Thirty years later, the congregation had tripled in size. The church became a cornerstone of the community: embracing residents from neighborhoods ranging from Astoria to Washington Heights to Brighton Beach.
Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery. Use this database to search for individual photographs. Currently a small number of our images are available online, but we regularly add new photographs. You can also visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Fri, 1-5 p.m. to search through our entire collection of images.