First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan, Illinois is situated at 122 North Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. It has been there since its construction in 1858. Through the history of the physical building, the activities of Reverend Chidester, and social groups in the congregation, First Presbyterian has had an important and interesting history.

On November 11, 1857 a meeting was held at Union Hall in Waukegan, “for the purpose of organizing a Presbyterian Church new School” (History of the Church 1). First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan, Illinois was founded with a charter membership of fifty people. Forty-five of the original fifty members came from First Congregational Church. The other five members came from other churches; it is uncertain why they left. Reverend Ira M. Weed was asked to help organize the new church (Just 1). He also helped to [establish] the Lake Forest College Presbyterian Church (Just 1). First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan, Illinois is only the second Presbyterian Church in Lake County and the seventh church to be established in Waukegan.

The congregation chose the site at 122 North Utica Street because it was in the middle of downtown Waukegan and they wanted to attract a lot of members. Construction began in the summer of 1858, with the cornerstone being laid on June 23, 1858. Construction was supposed to start about a month earlier, but it had to be delayed because of extremely wet weather. The building was finished in the fall of 1858 and dedicated on October 23, 1858. The new building cost $7,600.

Reverend George L. Little was called to be the first pastor at First Presbyterian Church in 1858. He wore a beard and a haircut like President Lincoln. Reverend Little was said to be “a kindly man who seemed to be listening to some apostolic choir” (Just 1). Until the first sanctuary was completed, Reverend Little held services at Dickinson Hall in Waukegan. Reverend Little remained at First Presbyterian until 1865. At that time Joseph L. Morton became pastor.

In the early 1890’s the church building needed extensive repairs. During the pastorate of James E. Odlim, the congregation formed a Building Committee. That committee had authority to plan for the renovation of the current building or the construction of a new one. The Building Committee decided it would be more economical to build a new church than to renovate the old one. On November 18, 1893, the cornerstone was laid for the new building. Several articles were placed in a box in the cornerstone. Those articles are a copy of the New York Evangelist, two copies of Interior Chicago, three copies of the Waukegan Daily Register, two copies of the Waukegan Weekly Gazette, a list of the original members, and one Bible (New Presbyterian Church 1), With the cornerstone in place, construction went very quickly.

The new building stands at the site of the old one. The new building cost $15,540. The foundation was made of hand-hewn stone and the outside walls were made of hydraulic pressed brick. The windows were trimmed with Bedford stone. The roof was set at an angle. Entrances were put on the north and south ends of the church. The floor in the sanctuary has an incline that raises forty inches from the base of the pulpit to the rear of the sanctuary. First Presbyterian Church is the first in Waukegan to have an inclined floor in the sanctuary. The new building was dedicated by Reverend Samuel W. Chidester on March 18, 1894. While the new building was being built, services were held again in Dickinson Hall.

Building the new church put First Presbyterian Church in debt. The congregation was paying off the mortgage at a rate of $500 a year until 1902, when Mrs. Jane McAllister finished paying off the debt. This was important to her and the congregation so that they could enjoy Easter celebrations knowing the church was debt-free. Mrs. McAllister also donated the money for what would become known as the McAllister Stained Glass Window. She also gave the church an organ.

As the city of Waukegan and the congregation grew, First Presbyterian Church recognized the need to expand. Talks began all the way back in 1923 to move the church to a new site but those talks were cancelled because no “suitable” site could be found. In 1952, Sunday school classes were being held in spaces the size of clothes closets. On July 31, 1952, a Forward Development Committee (FDC) was formed because more room was need in the church because of Sunday school enrollment, a place was needed for social activities (the present facilities were inadequate), and the sanctuary was not large enough to seat the entire congregation for worship. At this time, the back section of the sanctuary was used for Sunday school classes and not for worship. Plans began to be made to add a new building to the existing church.

On June 3, 1953, the estimated cost was $93,000 and construction was estimated to take thirty months. As of July 15, 1953, the estimated cost rose to $175,000 and construction would still take thirty months. The building that the FDC hoped for would cost $200,000, but the congregation only approved spending $185,000. So some things in the new Christian Education Building, as it had been named, had to be left out. At a September 2 meeting of the FDC, a spending goal was set at $175,000.

The FDC decided that the architectural firm of Eckstrand, Schad & West would design the Christian Education Building, with Eugene Schad being the architect. After final plans were drawn up, the Christian Education Building was designed to be fire-resistant and have three stories, a large Fellowship Hall with a stage, a kitchen, the new church offices and the pastor’s study, and twenty Sunday school classrooms. The Christian Education Building was completed in February of 1956 and consecrated on March 4, 1956 by Reverend L.H. Shonfelt. The final cost of the new building was $153,521.54.

On March 5, 1963, a special meeting was held of the Board of Trustees. The Trustees are responsible for maintenance of the building and grounds and church finance. The meeting was held to discuss plans for the renovation and the improvement of the current sanctuary. The Trustees drew up some preliminary plans and a tentative spending goal was set at $67,050. The Trustees decided that a meeting with the Session (also called the Board of Elders) was needed before any further plans for renovation commenced. The Session is the governing body of the church.

The primary reason for the 1963-64 renovations was the organ. The old organ donated by Jane McAllister in 1902 just gave out and died. The sanctuary also needed other major repairs. The Trustees bought an organ from the Gress-Miles Organ Co. at a cost of $28,000. The Trustees decided that Eckstrand, Schad & West would design the new sanctuary, with Eugene Schad again being the architect. Originally, renovating the rear of the sanctuary was not part of the plan. Mr. Schad pointed out that renovating the rear of the sanctuary would provide more room, but it would cost an additional $25,000.

The renovation was supposed to begin on August 16, 1963. Work was delayed, however, because a construction company to do the work had not yet been chosen. Finally, the Board of Trustees decided that Peterson Co. would do the renovation. As of October 16, 1963, the renovation cost approximately $133,000. The renovation work began in December of 1963, with work progressing very slowly at first.

A tentative date for the dedication of the new sanctuary was set for May 17, 1964. Work was not even nearing completion by that date. A new dedication date for the sanctuary was set for May 31, 1964. It was again delayed because the new carpeting and the new organ had not yet been installed. In fact, the organ was supposed to arrive in mid-April, and it had not arrived yet. The Peterson Co. told the church that it would take three weeks to install the organ. Finally, the organ arrived and a new dedication date was set for June 24, 1964. The sanctuary was finally dedicated on June 24, 1964, with the new pastor, Reverend Thomas Melton, presiding. While the sanctuary was being renovated, services were held in Fellowship Hall.

The building is only part of the church. The most important part of the church is the congregation. There is an official body responsible for church evangelism. They are called the Board of Deacons. The leader of the church is called the pastor. From 1857 to 1893, First Presbyterian Church had eleven pastors, beginning with George L. Little. From 1893 to the present, First Presbyterian Church has had only six pastors, with two pastors serving seventy of the one hundred years. The pastor who was at First Presbyterian Church longest was Reverend Samuel W. Chidester. He was pastor from 1894 to 1939. The second longest-serving pastor to date was Reverend R. Norman Herbert, who was at First Presbyterian from 1965 to 1990. Reverend David A. Eikenberry came to First Presbyterian Church in 1992 and is the current pastor.

Before he came to First Presbyterian, Reverend Chidester served as pastor at Grace Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee for fourteen years. Reverend Chidester was very active in the Waukegan community. He was very instrumental in founding the Waukegan Public Library. It is important that Reverend Chidester came to Waukegan because it has been said that had he not come to Waukegan, there might not be a public library. He was also very instrumental in founding the Jane McAllister Hospital, which was later renamed Victory Memorial Hospital. Reverend Chidester served on the Board of Directors at Victory Memorial Hospital until his death in 1939. He also served as President of the Waukegan Humane Society and promoted the Waukegan University Club, which was not well known at the time.

There have been both men’s and women’s social groups at First Presbyterian Church since its founding in 1858. There are, however, no existing records of their early activities. The most notable social groups at First Presbyterian Church were the ones for women. There used to be three social groups for women at First Presbyterian Church. One, for younger women, was called The Junior Guild, one for older women was called The Women’s Guild, and a group for working women was called The Westminster Guild (Shonfelt 2). In 1949, those three groups were combined into one Women’s Association. The Women’s Association was organized by Mrs. Shonfelt, the current pastor’s wife, and Mrs. Whitacre, a member of the congregation. The Women’s Association was originally called Presbyterian Women in the First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan, Illinois. The purpose of the Women’s Association is stated as, “Forgiven and freed by God in Jesus Christ, we commit ourselves; to nurture our faith through prayer and Bible study, to support the mission of the church world wide, to work for justice and peace, and to build an inclusive, caring community of women that strengthens the Presbyterian Church (USA) and witnesses to the promise of God’s kingdom” (Bylaws 1). The Women’s Association was primarily responsible for decorating the church and providing receptions during activities. They also were involved in missionary activities.

Membership in the Women’s Association is divided into circles. Circles have regular members and auxiliary members. The regular members attend circle meetings and the auxiliary members do not attend meetings because they are not able to. The Women’s Association originally had nine circles, but now there is only one, the Afternoon Circle.

The Women’s Association originally had over two hundred members, but over the years membership has dwindled to sixty-four. In the 1960’s there were several morning circles for women with small children, for which daycare was provided, and there were also a couple of evening circles for working women.

There are several groups associated with the Women’s Association. One is the Sewing Group. They sew clothes and other things for needy people. One year the Sewing Group sewed skirts and dresses for girls being held in the Juvenile Detention Center on Grand Street in Waukegan. This is important because those girls really did not have nice clothes to wear. Plus, no other church on record has done anything like this for kids in Juvenile Detention. Another group associated with the Women’s Association is the Prayer Chain. A prayer request is started at the top of the chain and a member calls the next one in line and passes on the request. A third group associated with the Women’s Association is Project Love. Project Love supplied homemade meals to needy families of the congregation once a month.

In the years since its founding in 1857, First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan, Illinois has indeed had an important and interesting history. The building is important to the congregation and the actions of the congregation make First Presbyterian Church important to Waukegan. In the future, First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan, Illinois will continue to have an impact on the city of Waukegan by fulfilling Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”