Let us draw near to God 
with a sincere heart 
in full assurance of faith...
Hebrews 10:22

In the summer of 1852 the first families began moving into this general area to clear the land for farming and to build homes.  Brooklyn Township was created in 1858, the year Minnesota became a state.

Brooklyn United Methodist Church had its beginnings in 1852 when two mothers, Mrs. Longfellow and Mrs. Hanscom seeking a strength greater than their own, recognized their need for God in this new country.  These women began teaching Bible lessons in their homes to the area children.

The Longfellow home was made of tamarack logs.  The Hanscom home was the first frame house built in this area. There were no roads, only trails forged by the Ojibway Indians who lived in the area.

In late 1853 and early 1854, settlers from Michigan staked claim to this area and named it Brooklyn Township, after their home territory of Brooklyn, Michigan.

John Plumer of St. Anthony, moved his family into a small board house in 1854. His friend, Brother Jones, rode out to preach in the Plumer home about three weeks later. Approximately twenty-five people showed up. 

The first adult class began in the summer of 1854.  John Ware Dow was appointed the class leader by E. C. Jones, Pastor at St. Anthony.  These classes met in the homes of John and Susan Dow (a log shanty) and John & Harriet Plummer (a 12 x 16' cabin).

In 1856 Abisha Benson became the class leader.  The classes were now held in Abisha & Dora Benson's home with about 45 people attending.

Classes continued to meet in homes, and grew in size, until there were too many people.  They started to meet in granaries, and later, in school houses.  Out of these meetings emerged five distinct classes; Maple Plain to the northwest, Long Prairie in the northeast, Crystal in the southwest, Shingle Creek to the southeast, and in the center, Brooklyn.  It was natural that this area became Brooklyn Center.

There were three important early roads in through the Brooklyn Township. These roads are now known as West River Road, Osseo Road, and West Broadway. Early maps and narratives used assorted names for these roads according to "The Brooklyns, A History of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park". 

West River Road was sometimes called "Minneapolis and Crow River Road", or "Minneapolis Champlin Dayton Road;" Osseo Road was called "Middle Road;" and West Broadway was called "Robbinsdale Road," "Crystal Lake Road," or even "Osseo Road" on the pre-1910 PM Dahl Road Map. 

The Minneapolis and Crow River Road began in the Camden area of North Minneapolis. It roughly followed Lyndale Avenue through Brooklyn Center and West River Road through Brooklyn Park. It continued up the west side of the Mississippi River to a point across from the City of Anoka, crossed Elm Creek at Champlin, and headed northwest to a point near where the Crow River empties into the Mississippi.

A second early road, recorded by government surveyors in 1853, roughly corresponded to Osseo Road, and led from Minneapolis through Bottineau Prairie, then to present-day Osseo. Originally, Osseo Road turned north towards 85th Avenue at what is now the corner of Zane Avenue and Brooklyn Boulevard, then headed west.

West Broadway in southwest Brooklyn Township leading into Osseo also was an early north-south route. West Broadway was sometimes referred as the Robbinsdale Road or the Crystal Lake Road, and the portion between Robbinsdaile and Champlin became known as Jefferson Highway before 1920.

1854-56  J. W. Mills - Took the first class of people and organized them into a church.

1856-57  C. W. Harris

1857-58  John Hooper - First arrived as a missionary

1858-59  J. D. Rich