The Church takes its name from the early French settlers, who looked up to a hill that once
existed at the corner of Kingshighway and what is presently known as Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., Drive. The Indians living on the hill lit campfires at night that made the hill shine.
Therefore, the French settlers called it Cote (hill) Brilliante (shining).
The first building, called Cote Brilliante Chapel, had its beginning with the merging of two Sunday schools.
They formed the Cote Brilliante Union Chapel Sunday School Association and acquired a charter from the state
of Missouri on June 13, 1878. The Christian men wanted more than a Sunday school. They wanted to worship
God on a regular basis. Therefore, the Association selected seven wealthy landlords to serve as trustees. It was
agreed that it would be an interdenominational place of worship. Thus, the Board of Trustees was composed of
one member of each denomination: Baptist, Southern Methodist, Congregationalist, Presbyterian, and Christian.
The other two Trustees would be neither of the above denominations. However, according to the Constitution,
replacements of the Board of Trustees were to remain the same denominational balance.
The original Charter granted permission to operate the Association for 99 years, but after 15 years, conditions had
changed. Two of the trustees had died and had not been replaced. One had built and moved into his mansion in
fashionable Vandeventer Place. The whereabouts of one was unknown. Another was in poor health and had moved
away. The sixth trustee had become a publisher and was no longer interested. The seventh had moved into a home
on Olive Boulevard while his mansion was being built. The chapel fell into disrepair until some newcomers to the
neighborhood, reopened and voted for it to become a Presbyterian Church.
On September 28,1885 a transformation took place. Cote Brilliante Chapel became Cote Brilliante Presbyterian
Church. It grew and prospered. A number of struggling African Americans offered to purchase and move the chapel
that had already been relocated to the back of the lot to make room for a new building. The offer was refused.
However, the church offered the use of the chapel to the St. Louis Public Library to be as a branch library. The plan
fell through because neither the church nor the library would agree to pay lighting and heating bills. Some years later
the church had to pay for the demolition and movement of the chapel.
In 1890 ground was broken to build the present church that was to cost $30,000.00. A picture of this handsome
structure was featured in a leading architecture magazine. (The Inland Architect. December 1900 issue). In 1904
it was completely furnished and its proud members held a joyous celebration.
As the church was becoming stronger, it extended itself by establishing missions. The issue of race caused the
eventual demise of the church that existed at that time. Many of its leaders were also leaders of the Marcus Avenue
Improvement Association, a neighborhood bonding of residents and businesses in the community. They became
alarmed that the Marcus Avenue Improvement Association and Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church petitioned the
St. Louis Board of Education to deny the use of Cote Brilliante Presbyterian School to African Americans. Their
petition was refused. They constantly surveyed the neighborhood to be assured that all racial restrictive housing
covenants barring the sale of homes to African Americans were kept updated. In spite of their vigilance, an African
American couple, J. D. and Ethel Shelly purchased a home at 4600 Labadie and moved in on October 9, 1945.
Fern Kraemer (white) who lived at 4532 Labadie was upset.
The neighborhood association at Cote Brilliante Church on October 11, 1945 called an emergency meeting. At the
meeting, the association drew up a petition. They and the trustees of the church provided funds for a surety bond so
that Fern Kraemer could sue the Shelly family and force them from their new home. This landmark case concerning
restrictive housing covenants eventually reached the U. S. Supreme Court and the decision was handed down on
May 3, 1948 in favor of the Shelly family. The case, Shelley vs. Kraemer, originating in Cote Brilliante Presbyterian
Church, made national news and today students in law schools study it. The Shelley house, one block east of the
church still stands and has a marker in front. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Following the decision of the U. S. Supreme Court, African Americans moved into the neighborhood and a mass
exodus of whites occurred. The church lost its evangelical zeal and new neighbors were not welcomed. In 1951,
the elders of Cote Brilliante Church requested that the Presbytery not assign it to survey their immediate neighborhood.
Its membership continued to decline. They requested that the Presbytery permit the church to move or merge with
some other congregation. These requests were denied by the local Presbytery and all the governing bodies to which
they appealed. The church was closed on May 27, 1956 and its 200 members on the church roll were dispersed.
The Presbytery was determined to keep the church in its present location in order for the neighborhood to have a
house of worship. It called Reverend William Gillespie from a Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, North Carolina to
become the temporary pastor that is referred to as the "stated supply".
The first worship service was held on September 16, 1956. Each year since then, we have always observed our
anniversary around that date.
Members who joined the church were quite pleased with Reverend Gillespie who had been serving as the stated
supply (temporary pastor). Seventeen of them signed a document requesting that the Presbytery install him as the
official pastor. The installation ceremony took place on January 19, 1958. There are three surviving members who
signed "The Call". They are Deborah DuPree, Robert Freeman and William Tatum.
Our church has constantly grown stronger and its strength is recognized throughout the Presbytery.
Reverend Gillespie has served as moderator (the presiding officer) of the local Presbytery, the Synod
(regional body) and has been nominated to the highest office in the General Assembly (the national body).
Its members have served on numerous committees and commissions of the above bodies.
The strength of the church can be attributed to its various service organizations and its programs designed to
serve its members and the neighborhood. It has served as a meeting place for numerous organizations that
seek to uplift the community, to seek racial justice and to give praise to God.
The only structure that has ever been located on the corner of Labadie and Marcus Avenues has been a place
to worship God.