Early Churches of Upper Alton
transcribed by Tim Mueller
The oldest church group in Alton was the Methodist Church of Upper Alton. In 1817, five or six people met in the log cabin home of Ebenezer Hodge. The people met in homes until 1835 when a church was built. It was named
Wesley Chapel. In 1923, the Wesley Methodist Church and the Washington Avenue Methodist Church joined to form the present Main Street Methodist Church. The Wesley Church building was then bought by the Seventh Day Adventist
Church, and is still used by them.
The Upper Alton Baptist Church was started by Dr. John Mason Peck, Apri1 25, 1830. At first, meetings were held in the Lyceum Building in Lower Alton. When Shurtleff College was
begun in Upper Alton, the church meetings were held in Loomis Hall on the campus.
In 1837, their first church building was dedicated. It was used for 32 years. It was a rock building with a tall steeple. This church
stood on the northeast corner of Seminary and College Avenues,just across Seminary Street from where the present church now stands. The Upper Alton Baptist Church was dedicated May 30, 1869. This church has been torn down
and a new one was built in 1967. 
The Upper Alton Presbyterian Church was started January 8, 1837. Its first minister was Reverend Elijah P. Lovejoy. The first church building was built in 1837 at the same site as the present one. The lot on which it
stands was given by Deacon Enoch Long. The first church burned and was replaced by a frame church in 1865. In 1927, the present College Avenue Presbyterian Church was dedicated. The
first window on the left, nearest the altar, is in memory of Eliljah P. Lovejoy.
In 1895, there were only three churches in Upper Alton. They were the Baptist, the Wesley Methodist, and the Presbyterian.
Early Churches of Lower Alton
transcribed by Tim Mueller
Many of the churches in both Upper Alton and Lower Alton held their first meetings in homes. Later, the Lyceum Hall served as a meeting place for many of the church services.
In 1832, Captain Benjamin Godfrey built a church at the present site of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The original walls are part of today's building. This was the first church building in the city.
In 1833, the Baptists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians shared the use of Benjamin Godfrey's church building. During the week, meetings were held there. It was in this
building that Elijah P. Lovejoy made his final plea for freedom of speech and of the press.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church was started in 1836. In 1843, the building and grounds, at
the corner of Third and Market Streets were bought from Benjamin Godfrey. In 1850 the building was torn down and the present Episcopal church was built on the same site.
In 1840 the Baptists began using their own church, a large stone building at the corner of Broadway and Easton Streets. In 1860 this building was destroyed by fire and the First
Baptist Church was built at the corner of Fifth and Market Streets.
In 1900 under the pastorate of Reverend M. W. Twing, a new church was built. The
church had several missions; the most important of which became the Cherry Street Baptist Church. The First Baptist Church dedicated a new building at College Avenue and Johnson Street in the spring of 1954.
After the Baptists left the group church building, Benjamin Godfrey offered to sell it to any church for $2,000 because Monticello Seminary needed money. The Episcopalians
bought the church and the Presbyterians had to find a new place of worship. The Presbyterian Church in
Lower Alton was started under the leadership of Reverend Thomas Lippincott, June 9,
1831. Lyceum Hall and Benjamin Godfrey's Church served as its early meeting place. A brick church on the corner of Second, which is now Broadway, and Market Streets was completed in 1846 and used for over fifty years.
An argument arose over a bell that had been in the old church. The Presbyterians claimed the bell went with the members and the Episcopalians said it belonged to the
building. This argument was settled when the Presbyterians went to the church during the night, took the bell, and hid it until their new building was completed. Godfrey took
$200 less for the building because the bell was missing.
The cornerstone for the new Presbyterian church at the corner of Fourth and Alby
Streets was laid, July 8, 1897. This is the present site of the First Presbyterian Church. The bell is now safe in the bell tower of the new church.
The first Catholic Mass in this area was held in a small frame building in Upper Alton in 1840. This mission was begun by Father George Hamilton. In 1842, a stone church was
built at the corner of Third and Alby Streets. This building was destroyed by fire in 1853. Property was bought on State Street, on which the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
was built in 1856. Saint Mary's Church was built in 1858 at the corner of Third and Henry Streets. It was destroyed by the great tornado in June of 1860. Soon afterwards,
the present church building was built on the corner of East Fourth and Henry Streets. Saint Patrick's Church, on the corner of East Fourth and Central, was the third Catholic
Church in Alton. Saint Matthew's, on Milton Road, and Saint Ambrose, in Godfrey, are the newest Catholic churches in the area.
Other church groups were also represented in Alton's early history.
The Alton Evangelical Church dates back to 1851, with the Reverend G. A. Detharding as the first pastor.
The Church of the Redeemer was organized in the home of Captain F. L. Lewis in 1870.
The Unitarians held services in homes as early as 1836. In 1853, Reverend W. D. Haley came to Alton from St. Louis and began their first church. 
The Negro people of Alton maintained two churches in Alton's early history. The Union Baptist Church was
started in the home of Charles Edwards in Upper Alton by Reverend E. Rogers in 1836. The members met in different homes in Alton for several years, and then built a church on the corner of George and Seventh Streets.
The Alton A. M. E. (African Methodist Episcopal) was started in 1839 by William Paul Quinn. In 1867, they bought land between Henry and Ridge Streets and built a brick
church. It was built under the pastorate of Reverend H. DePugh.
Most of the Alton churches are fairly new. Only about a dozen were started before
1860. As Alton grew so did the number of churches. The movement of families to the outskirts of the city and the movement of people from larger churches to smaller
churches nearer their homes has helped to account for more than doubling the number of churches since 1918.
Political Events In Early History of Alton
Town Chartered
transcribed by Vicky Schiber
The eager citizens of Alton were granted a town charter from the State Legislature in 1821. This first charter was canceled and a second was granted in the winter of 1832
-33. This act was approved on February 6, 1833. The town board was formed under provisions of the charter, with Dr. B. K. Hart as president.
On July 31, 1837, Alton became a city by an act ofthe State Legislature. City officers were elected on the last Monday of August, 1837. On September 2, John M. Krum
took office as the first mayor of Alton. Three aldermen were elected from each of the four wards.
City Growth After the Black Hawk War
transcribed by Vicky Schiber
Alton took part in the Black Hawk War. Two companies of men were formed; one under Captain David Smith and the other, under Captain Josiah Little.
After the end of the Indian troubles in 1832, Alton grew rapidly in business and population. Many people came into the city, mainly from the Eastern States. Among
these people were lawyers, doctors, teachers, newspapermen, and ministers. They played an important part in the early churches, schools, societies, and newspapers.
Elijah P. Lovejoy
transcribed by Vicky Schiber
Elijah P. Lovejoy was born on November 9, 1802, at Albion, Maine. He grew up on a farm with eight brothers and sisters. He attended Lakeville College, now Colby
University, at Waterville, Maine, and graduated in 1826 with highest honors. He taught school, and then came west. He settled in St. Louis and began teaching again. He also wrote articles for the St. Louis Times. He impressed the editors with his reporting ability
and was hired as Assistant-Editor. In 1832, at age 29, Lovejoy became very interested in the Christian religion, quit the paper, and went to Princeton Seminary to study for the
Ministry. In 1833, he was licensed to preach in a Presbyterian church in New York.
Again in 1833, he decided to return to St. Louis as Editor of the Observer, a religious
newspaper. Through the use of the newspaper editorials he attacked slavery. His strong stand forced a mob to destroy his press and equipment. He moved to Alton in 1836.
He brought another press to replace the one destroyed. The enemies of Lovejoy followed him to Alton and found people who agreed with them. His newspaper was
named the Alton Observer. The old cry of "Abolitionist" was raised against him; and on August 22, 1837, his office was wrecked and the press destroyed.
This action made Lovejoy's feelings against slavery even stronger. A meeting was held August 30, 1837, in the store of Alexander and Company at which Lovejoy was asked
to re-establish the newspaper. He called for a convention which met in Upper Alton, October 26, 1837; and the next day it organized the "State Anti-Slavery Society of
Illinois." The sixty members met in the home of Reverend T. B. Hurlbut. This rock house still stands on the corner of College Avenue and Clawson Street.
Later, in an address before a meeting of both anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups, Lovejoy spoke for his beliefs. In his address he said, "I dare not flee away from Alton.
Should I attempt it I should feel that the angel of the Lord with his flaming sword was pursuing me wherever I went. It is because I fear God that I am not afraid of all who
oppose me in this city. No, sir, the contest has commenced here and here it must be ended. Before God and you all, I have pledged myself to continue it, if need be till death
. If I fall, my grave shall be made in Alton."
In the meantime, events happened quickly. Three times those who were against him
destroyed his press, but he refused to give up. On the night of November 6, 1837, a press arrived from St. Louis by boat. It was moved from the boat to the fourth story of
a warehouse belonging to Godfrey, Gilman, and Company. 
The next morning, November 7, all was quiet in the city. Twenty men stayed in the building to protect the warehouse and the press. Among these men were Mr. Gilman, one of the owners of the warehouse, and Lovejoy.
Early in the night, a mob gathered outside. The mob came for the press and made it clear that they would destroy the warehouse if necessary. The mayor came to see if he could stop the mob,
but he could do nothing. The mob came toward the building with a long ladder. A man went up the ladder to set the roof on fire. When volunteers were called to go out and
shoot the man off the ladder, Lovejoy, Amos B. Roff, and Royal Weller stepped out. As they stepped clear of the door, five bullets were shot into the body of Lovejoy. He
walked into the building and upstairs to the office, saying "I am shot! I am shot! I am dead!" He was met at the door of the office by some of the other defenders and died.
The mob called for Mr. Gilman. The building was on fire. The men promised to put it out if he would give up the press. That was all they wanted. With the promise that
nothing would be destroyed or anyone hurt, Mr. Gilman gave them the press.
The next morning, Lovejoy's friends came back to the building. His body lay where it
had fallen the night before. His friends hired a hearse and removed the body to his home. He was buried the following day.
On the sixtieth anniversary of the death of Lovejoy, a beautiful monument in his honor
was dedicated in the Alton City Cemetery. It was built by the State of Illinois and the people of Alton.
A History of Alton Table of Contents
A History of Alton page 6
Where We Live: Alton
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