The First Society of the New Church of St. Paul, a Swedenborgian or New Jerusalem congregation, had organized on January 6, 1860, but services were held sporadically. In the winter of 1872-73, a more formal organization was formed in the room of the Y.M.C.A. on 3rd Street. The Reverend Edward Craig Mitchell, then pastor of the Minneapolis congregation, was selected to lead the organization. Other members included Governor William R. Marshall (congregation president) and Mr. John M. Gilman (secretary and treasurer). In July 1876, the congregation began meeting in a brick church building on Market Street facing Rice Park, which they purchased from the Methodists. In 1886, the congregation relocated to a new church building, designed by architect Cass Gilbert, which they erected at 170 Virginia Street. The building and congregation remain extant in 2015.
- WPA Report, which consists of a historical address delivered by Edward H. Cutler on October 31, 1923, at the Virginia Street Church. See also, "Building History," The Virginia Street Church, http://virginiastchurch.org/about-1/ WPA Report http://virginiastchurch.org/