Beecher Chapel marker
Dublin Core
Title
Beecher Chapel marker
Subject
Underground Railroad tourism and heritage
Description
Presbyterian and Congregational settlers in Galesburg formed the town's Old First Church in 1837. By the 1850s, their unity fractured over Congregationalists' opposition to some southern Presbyterians' support of slavery. In 1858 Congregationalists separated to establish the First Congregational Church, calling Edward Beecher, former president of Illinois College and co-founder of Illinois' first antislavery society, to return to the state from Boston, Massachusetts. The First Congregational Church, on South Broad Street, was across the street and south of the Old First Church. The belfry of the Old First Church was known as a hiding place for fugitive slaves. The Old First Church was razed in 1895, the same year that Knox College acquired the First Congregational Church and renamed it Beecher Chapel. The chapel itself was razed in 1966.
Creator
Galesburg Pilot Club
Date
Marker erected 1987
Type
image
Identifier
WIUGRR #20
Coverage
Illinois, United States
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Stone and metal monument
Files
Citation
Galesburg Pilot Club, “Beecher Chapel marker,” Traces of Western Illinois' Underground Railroad, accessed April 29, 2024, https://timroberts.org/wiugrr/items/show/21.