Union Church is a historic non-denominational church located southeast of Oreana in Macon County,

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 ...

. The white frame church was built in 1876; its design incorporates elements of the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

styles. In addition to religious services, the church also hosted a school,

Temperance Union Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

meetings, and Christmas and New Year's parties. The church has a functional

pump organ The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

from 1879, which was originally purchased for the Temperance Union. A cemetery is adjacent to the church; its first burial dates to 1842. In 1936, the church's congregation discontinued religious services; since then, the building has been used only for weddings and an annual

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

celebration. The church was added to 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 ...

on September 23, 1999.

References

Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Greek Revival church buildings in Illinois Italianate architecture in Illinois Churches completed in 1876 Buildings and structures in Macon County, Illinois Wooden churches in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Macon County, Illinois Italianate church buildings in the United States {{Illinois-church-stub