An improbable site to commemorate

Monument at 352 East Main Street in Galesburg, marking the location of the First Congregational Church, later known as Beecher Chapel

While the church's first pastor was the abolitionist Edward Beecher, of the famous antislavery Beecher family, there is no evidence that Beecher Chapel actually was an underground railroad site that hid fugitive slaves. A church that congregants left to form Beecher Chapel, the Old First Church, orignally founded in 1837, was located on the public square, north and across the street. The Old First Church's belfry was likely a hideout space for fugitives. The monument reads, "Site of BEECHER CHAPEL, first brick church in Galesburg, built in 1858 and named after its first minister, Edward Beecher. Often used as a stop on the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. Razed 1966. Erected 1987 Sponsored by Pilot Club of Galesburg."