Category Archives: Churches

First Baptist Church

Posted on October 30, 2013 by editor

Central Baptist Church, 501 S. Fourth St. in Springfield, lays claim to the heritage of Springfield’s original Baptist congregation, which was formed by eight members on July 17, 1830. The church originally was known as First Baptist Church of Springfield. … Continue reading →

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Concordia Theological Seminary

Posted on October 29, 2013 by editor

Concordia Theological Seminary educated prospective Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod clergy from 1876 until 1975 1976 on a campus north and east of 12th and Carpenter streets in Springfield. (The Missouri Synod took over the facilities after Illinois State University, a Lutheran … Continue reading →

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First United Methodist Church

Posted on October 28, 2013 by editor

Early settler Charles Matheny had been an ordained Methodist circuit preacher in Kentucky, so it was only natural that he should start holding services in his home shortly after arriving in Springfield. Springfield’s First United Methodist Church considers that it … Continue reading →

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First Presbyterian Church

Posted on October 28, 2013 by editor

The Sangamon Presbyterian Church, now First Presbyterian Church, was founded by the Rev. John Ellis on Jan. 23, 1828. The energetic Rev. John Bergen soon became the church’s first permanent pastor, and he initiated plans to construct a church building. … Continue reading →

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First Universalist Church

Posted on October 28, 2013 by editor

First Universalist Church, founded in 1852, operated, at least periodically, from a building at Fifth and Cook streets in Springfield from 1858 to about 1900. Although the local Universalists often went without a regular pastor — instead hearing lessons from … Continue reading →

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Levi and Garner Goodan (1828 pioneers)

Posted on October 27, 2013 by editor

Levi Goodan captained a company of militia, part of the Fourth Regiment of Whiteside’s Brigade, in the Black Hawk War. Among the regiment’s other three company commanders was Abraham Lincoln. Levi and his wife, Garner , lived in 1828 in … Continue reading →

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Grace Lutheran Church

Posted on October 27, 2013 by editor

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Springfield was formally organized in the home of the Rev. Francis Springer on Sept. 19, 1841. Springer, who was born in Pennsylvania, had arrived in Springfield with his wife and daughter in May of 1839, … Continue reading →

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Nancy and Alexander Humphreys (1828 pioneers)

Posted on October 23, 2013 by editor

Nancy Humphreys was a charter member of both the Sangamo Presbyterian (1828) and Second Presbyterian (1835) churches in Springfield. John Todd Stuart places the residence of Nancy and Alexander Humphreys, as well as the site of Alexander’s blacksmith shop, near the … Continue reading →

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Illinois State University (Springfield)

Posted on October 22, 2013 by editor

Illinois State University – no relation to the current ISU in Bloomington-Normal – operated in Springfield from 1852 to 1870. The Lutheran-backed college originally opened in Hillsboro in 1847, when it was officially named the Literary and Theological Institute of … Continue reading →

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Lithuanian marker, Enos Park

Posted on October 16, 2013 by editor

Drawn by coal mine jobs, several thousand Lithuanians emigrated to Sangamon County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Enough of the immigrants had arrived by 1908 that they laid the cornerstone for  their own national Catholic church, St. … Continue reading →

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