Churches in Sycamore Historic District

As of 2007 there are five church buildings in the Sycamore Historic District, located in Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It has a commercial district based and centered on Illinois Route 64. The population was 17,519 at the 2010 census, up from 12,020 at the 2000 census.-Early settlement:...

, United States which are listed as contributing properties to the district. The Sycamore Historic District

Sycamore Historic District

The Sycamore Historic District is a meandering area encompassing of the land in and around the downtown of the DeKalb County, Illinois, county seat, Sycamore. The area includes historic buildings and a number of historical and Victorian homes...

was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

on May 2, 1978. When it was nominated to join the National Register there were seven church buildings within the district. One of those included is a residential structure that was utilized as a church when it was first constructed; the Arthur Stark House was once home to the Sycamore Universalist Church congregation. In the time since its listing, two churches have been destroyed or demolished. The Evangelical Church of St. John was destroyed by fire in 2004 and the United Methodist Church in Sycamore is no longer extant, replaced by a modern office building.

Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John formerly stood on Main Street in the Sycamore Historic District until it was "totally destroyed" by fire in February 2004. The 1937-38 building was one of the most notable structures within the historic district. Even as the church burned it made its mark on history. The fire's resulting backdraft

Backdraft

A backdraft is an explosive event at a fire resulting from rapid re-introduction of oxygen to combustion in an oxygen-starved environment, for example, the breaking of a window or opening of a door to an enclosed space. Backdrafts present a serious threat to firefighters, even those with a high...

caused an explosion and is the largest recorded backdraft incident in United State history. Two Sycamore firefighters were injured in the blaze.

In addition to the destroyed St. John's church the Sycamore United Methodist Church, listed as a contributing property to the historic district in 1978 no longer exists. The area along Somonauk Street where it once stood now houses an office building.

First Baptist Church

The First Baptist Church in Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

is within the boundaries of the Sycamore Historic District

Sycamore Historic District

and considered a contributing property

Contributing property

In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...

to the historic district. As of 2007 the old First Baptist Church building was occupied by the Bethel Assembly of God. The First Baptist Church's congregation was founded in 1852. In their early years they met in Franklin Township and then, later at Sycamore's schoolhouse and in the DeKalb County Courthouse

DeKalb County Courthouse (Illinois)

The DeKalb County Courthouse is located in the county seat of DeKalb County, Illinois, U.S.A., the city of Sycamore. The Classical Revival structure sits on a square facing Illinois Route 64 as it passes through the city. The current courthouse was constructed in 1905 amid controversy over where...

. Finally the church decided it needed a permanent building. The First Baptist Church building, erected in 1899, stands at the corner of Maple and Elm Streets in Sycamore, on a lot that was originally purchased from local citizen Hosea Willard. Built in the Gothic Revival style the church features prominently arched windows. On both the west and south facades it feature large stained glass

Stained glass

The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

windows.

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

is considered a contributing structure to the historic integrity of the district and is one of seven Sycamore churches that were integral parts of the historic district when it was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church

The Sycamore, Illinois St. Peter's Episcopal Church is listed as another contributing structure to the overall historic integrity of the Sycamore Historic District

Sycamore Historic District

. The historic district was designated in 1978 when it joined the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. The church building was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey

George O. Garnsey

George O. Garnsey was an American architect from the city of Chicago. He was born in Rock Island, Illinois and was educated at a private school in New York; in 1852 his parents brought him to Chicago. Garnsey was known for his large picturesque Queen Anne style homes.-Career:After coming to...

. It was erected in 1878 and consecrated in 1879 as a memorial to its primary benefactor Sycamore

Sycamore, Illinois

businessman James Waterman. Waterman paid the entire $17,000 construction cost himself. The building is said to be the oldest church in DeKalb County

DeKalb County, Illinois

DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 105,160, which is an increase of 18.2% from 88,969 in 2000. Its county seat is Sycamore. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago metropolitan statistical area.-History:DeKalb County...

. Constructed from Batavia stone the building's distinctive architectural integrity has been maintained through the years. It still features original walnut

Walnut

Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...

pew

Pew

A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...

s and stained glass

Stained glass

Old Congregational Church

Old Congregational Church, also known as Sycamore Baptist Church or First Congregational Church, is located at the corner of High and Somonauk Streets in Sycamore, Illinois

Sycamore, Illinois

.

The building, erected in 1884, was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey

George O. Garnsey

. Garnsey designed several prominent structure in Sycamore and DeKalb

DeKalb, Illinois

DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 at the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War....

, including the Ellwood House

Ellwood House

The Ellwood House was built as a private home by barbed wire entrepreneur Isaac Ellwood in 1879. It is located on First Street in DeKalb, Illinois, United States, in DeKalb County. The Victorian style home, designed by George O. Garnsey, underwent remodeling in 1898-1899 and 1911...

and the David Syme House

David Syme House

The David Syme House is located in Sycamore, Illinois and is part of the Sycamore Historic District. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1978. The Queen Anne style home was constructed sometime around 1880.-History:...

. The plans for the church appeared in Garnsey's patternbook journal, National Builder, at about the same time the building was constructed. After a 1978 lightning strike the building's main steeple underwent a renovation.. Early church documents record members as staunchly abolitionists, having participated in the Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

as early as 1844. The building is designed in Victorian

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

Gothic motif and its exterior is clad in stone.

Universalist Church/Arthur Stark House

The Universalist Church/Arthur Stark House is a residential structure in the DeKalb County, Illinois

DeKalb County, Illinois

city of Sycamore

Sycamore, Illinois

. It is a contributing structure to the overall historic integrity of the Sycamore Historic District

Sycamore Historic District

. This two-story Italianate home was constructed in 1855. Early in its history it served as the Universalist Church. Later, it was purchased by Arthur Stark, for whom it served as a residence.

Alonzo Ellwood, another member of the famed Ellwood family, was an original trustee for the Universalist Church, which once occupied this house. Before the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

the Universalist congregation was active in the abolitionist movement.

Arthur Stark turned the building into a livable home after the Universalist Church relocated. He remodeled the house adhering to the Italianate architecture in his remodel. Stark worked as secretary at Marsh Harvester, an important and early Sycamore industry.

Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John

First Baptist Church

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church

St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Old Congregational Church

Universalist Church/Arthur Stark House

See also