Category Archives: Churches

Rabbi Barry Marks (First Citizen)

Posted on October 16, 2013 by editor

Barry Marks, rabbi at Temple Israel in Springfield, was named Springfield’s First Citizen in 2011. (Image from award plaque, left) Marks was honored for more than 30 years of community involvement, including helping to found the Greater Springfield Interfaith Association … Continue reading →

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Charles Matheny (1828 pioneers)

Posted on October 16, 2013 by editor

Charles R. Matheny (1786-1839), was a prominent political and religious leader in Sangamon County’s earliest days. Born in Virginia, Matheny was ordained a Methodist minister and studied law in Kentucky. He was elected to the Illinois territorial legislature from St. … Continue reading →

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The Open Air Colony (Palmer Tuberculosis Sanatorium)

Posted on October 13, 2013 by editor

The Springfield Open Air Colony was a private sanatorium for people suffering from tuberculosis that operated at Chatham Road and Lawrence Avenue from 1913 until about 1953. (This closing date has been corrected.)  The Colony eventually was renamed the Palmer … Continue reading →

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Westminster Presbyterian Church

Posted on October 8, 2013 by editor

See Second Presbyterian Church.

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Second Presbyterian Church

Posted on October 8, 2013 by editor

Springfield’s Second Presbyterian Church (now known as Westminster Presbyterian Church), was founded in May 1835, when 30 members of First Presbyterian Church split from the parent congregation. Although some researchers ascribe the split to a dispute over slavery, with Second … Continue reading →

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Mary and John Sherill

Posted on October 8, 2013 by editor

Mary Pentacost Sherill (1802-1850?)was a founding member of Springfield’s Second Presbyterian Church (later Westminster Presbyterian Church), which was formed on May 26, 1835. Second Presbyterian was known as both the Abolitionist Church and the Temperance Church. Mary’s husband, John (1784-1858), … Continue reading →

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Rev. Francis Springer

Posted on October 7, 2013 by editor

The Rev. Francis Springer (1810-92) is considered the father of Lutheranism in Springfield. A service he held in his home in 1841 led to the founding of the first Lutheran congregation in the city. That church later evolved into both … Continue reading →

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Springfield in 1867 (map)

Posted on October 7, 2013 by editor

Although not to scale, the 1867 bird’s-eye view of Springfield drawn by A. Ruger for the Chicago Lithographing Co. is considered accurate in its placement and depiction of city buildings and streets. Note that the map is oriented with north … Continue reading →

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Ss. Peter and Paul Church

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 426 N. Sixth St., completed in 1866, was closed in 2001 and demolished in 2002. St. Pete’s, as it was known, was formed when Irish and German Catholics decided to form separate parishes in … Continue reading →

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Billy Sunday revival (1909)

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

Evangelist Billy Sunday’s six-week-long revival meeting in Springfield in 1909 is remembered chiefly because of a spectacular attack on Sunday the very first night of the revival. Sunday’s revivals were typically held in open-air “tabernacles” specially constructed for the evangelist. … Continue reading →

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