The First Presbyterian Church is a museum and former

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church located at 301 W. Main St. in Vandalia,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. The church was built in 1868 on the site of the first Protestant church in Illinois. The first church at the site, the House of Divine Worship, was a non-denominational church built in 1823 by the

Illinois State Legislature The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

; at the time, Vandalia was the state capital, and the governor's house was located next to the church. The Presbyterian church, built after the state capital moved to Springfield, was designed in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. The red brick church has a tall

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

. The church has twelve Gothic

pointed arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown meet at an angle at the top of the arch. Also known as a two-centred arch, its form is derived from the intersection of two circles. This architectural element was partic ...

windows; each window has an oval

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

pattern depicting a religious scene. Vandalia's Presbyterian congregation left the building for a new church in the 1960s, and the building is now used as the Fayette County Museum. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on March 24, 1982. It is one of four sites on the National Register in Fayette County.

Notes

External links

Fayette County Museum
- Vandalia, Illinois {{NRHP Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Buildings and structures in Fayette County, Illinois Presbyterian churches in Illinois Museums in Fayette County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County, Illinois