Category Archives: Churches

St. James Trade School (closed high schools)

Posted on December 29, 2013 by editor

St. James Trade School trained boys, originally orphans, for such jobs as mechanic, baker, the building trades, butcher and others from 1930 until 1972. St. James was a boarding school from 1930 to 1963 and then became a day school. … Continue reading →

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Church of St. Francis of Assisi

Posted on December 13, 2013 by editor

The ornate Church of St. Francis of Assisi, built from 1920 to 1924, is the centerpiece of the motherhouse of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis northeast of Springfield. See Franciscan Motherhouse.

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Franciscan Life Center (former Franciscan motherhouse)

Posted on December 12, 2013 by editor

The Hospital Sisters of St. Francis  operated a convent and church on a 300-acre site northeast of Springfield from 1917 until 2021. The order of Roman Catholic nuns, which began providing medical care in central Illinois in 1875, bought the … Continue reading →

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St. Augustine’s Episcopal Mission

Posted on December 6, 2013 by editor

St. Augustine’s Episcopal Mission was a congregation of black Episcopalians founded in Springfield in 1891. The congregation was renamed St. Luke’s in 1908, when Episcopal Bishop Edward Osborne authorized the membership to begin using the building formerly occupied by the … Continue reading →

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St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

Posted on December 6, 2013 by editor

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 1218 South Grand Ave. E., began in 1876 under the name of Lincoln Memorial Chapel, an Episcopal mission directed at former slaves. The mission was short-lived, but local Episcopal bishops Revs. George Seymour and Edward Osborne … Continue reading →

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James Adams (1828 pioneers)

Posted on November 8, 2013 by editor

James Adams (1783-1843), was a New Yorker who arrived in Springfield in 1821, apparently in flight from a forgery indictment in his native state. Adams found himself involved in controversy — legal, political, and marital — in Illinois as well. … Continue reading →

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Rev. John Bergen (1828 pioneers)

Posted on November 1, 2013 by editor

Rev. John Bergen (1790-1872) was the first full-time pastor of Springfield’s original Presbyterian church, which was founded in 1828. He, his wife Margretta (1793-1853) and their family moved to Springfield in late 1828 from New Jersey, where John Bergen had … Continue reading →

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Rev. Henry Brown

Posted on October 31, 2013 by editor

Rev. Henry Brown (1823-1906) was an African Methodist Episcopal preacher in Springfield and elsewhere. He worked in various capacities for the Abraham Lincoln family and led “Old Bob,” the Lincoln family horse, in President Lincoln’s funeral procession. He also was … Continue reading →

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Cantrall

Posted on October 31, 2013 by editor

The community of Cantrall had its beginnings in the winter of 1818-19, when Stephen England and two of his sons-in-law, Andrew Cline and Wyatt Cantrall, traveled through Springfield to the north side of the Sangamon River.  There, each of the … Continue reading →

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Cathedral Church of St. Paul

Posted on October 30, 2013 by editor

What became today’s Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Springfield began as “a handful of Episcopalians” and occasional services held by a Jacksonville pastor in 1832. The Parish of St. Paul’s was formally organized, with 19 parishioners, on June 19, 1835. … Continue reading →

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