History & Heritage

First Presbyterian Church

Property Details

1874 (Romanesque) Architect George Barton designed this revival style with locally produced bricks. Round shapes are repeated in the corbelling, windows and doors. The triple windows are banded with sandstone to give a polychrome surface decoration. Recessed walls and windows are seen many times on this façade. The bell-tower and “town clock” were donated in 1887 by Illinois Lt. Governor William Bross. He was the first signer of the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. Ironically, this church began as a Sunday School in “The Old Jail House” in 1824.