First Methodist Church — the ‘old stone church’ — sometime prior to 1952, as shown on one-cent postcard (Donna Catlin)
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 had its beginning with a sermon preached by the Rev. James Simms in the Matheny cabin at what is now 101 E. Washington St. on May 23, 1821. “There being no regular place of worship, the society did not grow very rapidly,” Inter-State Publishing Company’s 1881 History of Sangamon County reported.
In 1829, however, the congregation decided to build a church. Pascal P. Enos offered to contribute $50 to the cause, but he gave the church an alternative: “that amount of ready money (or) two city lots” at Fifth and Monroe streets. The Rev. Peter Cartwright, the famous circuit-riding Methodist evangelist from Pleasant Plains, cannily accepted the property.
The Methodists built a frame church on the site. It was dedicated in 1830, becoming the first church building in Springfield, though not by much — the Presbyterians actually had started construction earlier, but their church was of brick and took longer to finish.
An addition was constructed in 1842, but both Methodist buildings were replaced by a brick church in 1854. First Methodist moved to Fifth Street and Capitol Avenue in the 1880s. The “old stone church” there was demolished and a distinctively modern building constructed in 1979. However, First Methodist built a family life center on Springfield’s west side in the 1990s, and the congregation decided a few years later to relocate to 2941 S. Koke Mill Road. The last downtown service was held on June 21, 2008.
Over the decades, First Methodist’s official name changed as well, in conjunction with changes in the structure of its parent denomination. Church historian Steve Beilstein outlined First Methodist’s evolution in 2024.
“In 1939, the union of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, Methodist Protestant Church and Methodist Episcopal Church North became the Methodist Church, dropping the word ‘Episcopal’ from First Methodist.
“In 1968, the merger of the Methodist Church and Evangelical United Brethren Church generated the name change to United Methodist Church. First Methodist became First United Methodist Church of Springfield, Illinois.”
First Methodist has played important roles in the growth of Methodism and religious life elsewhere in the Springfield area over the decades. The church helped start MacMurray College in Jacksonville, and the Springfield YWCA was founded in a meeting at the church in 1909 overseen by Bina Deneen, wife of Gov. Charles Deneen.
Several other local Methodist congregations also are spinoffs from First Methodist. A mission class held at Fifth and Carpenter streets evolved into Second Methodist Church and later Kumler United Methodist Church. Asbury, Northside (formerly Wesley), Douglas Avenue, Laurel and Woodside United Methodist churches also originated as First Methodist initiatives.
First Methodist even played an indirect role in fostering an early Jewish congregation in Springfield. The church’s original frame building was sold to a German Baptist congregation when the Methodists constructed their brick church at Fifth and Monroe streets in the 1850s. The Baptists moved the building to Fifth and Capitol. When First Methodist bought that property in the 1880s, the building was moved again to Seventh and Mason streets, where it eventually became the home of B’Nai Abraham (now Temple Israel, 1122 W. Governor St.).
This entry was updated in 2024.
Hat tip: Steve Beilstein.
More information: First United Methodist Church histories in Sangamon Valley Collection, Lincoln Library in Springfield.
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I went to the First Methodist church in the 1960s . I remember the inside with the pipe organ along the back of the pulpit. Would you have any photos of that ? I know there is a new church there now . Thank you , Jan Smith 6143134729
My great-grandparents came from Norway to Springfield in 1881. My grandmother and uncle were born in Springfield in 1882 and 1883. My great grandparents were very religious and left Norway because they adhered to the Methodist faith and not the Church of Norway (they were known as dissenters). I am thinking that they might have joined FUMC and had their children baptized there. They moved on to Chicago sometime before 1887. I have been unable to find any record of their lives in Springfield and am wondering if there may be any church records that cover that time period. Their names were John Edward Nelson (ggfather), Inger Olea Skaug (ggmother), Anna Nelson (gmother), John Edward Nelson (Jr.) (guncle). I live in CA but my sister lives in WI and I’m hoping to be there this summer. Many thanks!
In response to Liza Coe’s 5/23/24 inquiry, none of the names given appear in the records of First Methodist Episcopal Church in that era. However, Second Methodist Episcopal Church, later named Kumler M.E. Church, was also in existence at that time and may have a record.