Beecher Hall is the oldest building on the campus of Illinois College in Jacksonville,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Built in 1829-30, it was the first college building erected in the state of Illinois. The building has served many functions for Illinois College, including housing the first medical school in Illinois in 1843. It is named after the first president of Illinois College,

Edward Beecher Edward Beecher D.D. (August 27, 1803 – July 28, 1895) was an American theologian, the son of Lyman Beecher and the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher. Biography Beecher was born August 27, 1803, in East Hampton (town), New ...

. Beecher Hall is recognized by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

as being a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. The building is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History

Chartered in 1829, Illinois College was one of the first three colleges chartered in Illinois. It began constructing Beecher Hall the same year, and its first classes took place there on January 4, 1830, before the building was even finished. The college named its first building for its first president, Dr. Edward Beecher, the brother of abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher and author

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

. Beecher Hall served in several capacities for the school through the years, including a dormitory, a library, a fraternity house, and a meeting place for campus literary societies. The building also housed the college's medical school, the first of its kind in Illinois, from 1843 to its discontinuation in 1848. Like his siblings, Edward Beecher was an active abolitionist, and Illinois College was the de facto headquarters of Illinois' antislavery movement. As part of the school's activism, Beecher Hall was a stop on the Underground Railroad. As many Central Illinois residents were pro-slavery before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the school and its students faced criticism and threats for its participation in the abolition movement. One student, Samuel Willard, was fined for his participation in freeing an escaped slave. Beecher Hall is now part of the National Park Service's Network to Freedom, an association of historic sites linked to the Underground Railroad. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 8, 1974. The U.S. Postal Service released a 19-cent

postal card Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. On January 26, 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a ''Correspon ...

featuring Beecher in 1993.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois School buildings completed in 1829 Buildings and structures in Morgan County, Illinois Jacksonville, Illinois micropolitan area Illinois College National Register of Historic Places in Morgan County, Illinois