As of 2007 there are five church buildings in the Sycamore Historic District, located in

Sycamore, Illinois Sycamore is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It has a commercial district based and centered on Illinois Route 64. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 census, up from 17,419 at the 2010 census. Sycamore is the county seat of D ...

, United States, which are listed as contributing properties to the district. The Sycamore Historic District was added to the U.S.

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 May 2, 1978. When it was nominated to join the National Register there were seven church buildings within the district. One of those included is a residential structure that was utilized as a church when it was first constructed; the Arthur Stark House was once home to the Sycamore Universalist Church congregation. In the time since its listing, two churches have been destroyed or demolished. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John was destroyed by fire in 2004 and the United Methodist Church in Sycamore is no longer extant, replaced by a modern office building.

Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John

The Evangelical

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

of St. John formerly stood on Main Street in the Sycamore Historic District until it was "totally destroyed" by fire in February 2004.Mikolajczyk, Paul L
Fire destroys church
''Daily Chronicle'', 10 February 2004, Retrieved January 13, 2007. The 1937–38 building was one of the most notable structures within the historic district. Even as the church burned it made its mark on history. The fire's resulting

backdraft A backdraft (North American English), backdraught (British English) or smoke explosion is the abrupt combustion, burning of superheated gases in a fire caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a windo ...

caused an explosion and is the largest recorded backdraft incident in United States history.Mayer, Jeani
Church celebrates 130 years of keeping the faith
''The Courier News'', 13 December 2006, Retrieved January 13, 2007. Two Sycamore firefighters were injured in the blaze. In addition to the destroyed St. John's church the Sycamore United Methodist Church, listed as a contributing property to the historic district in 1978 no longer exists. The area along Somonauk Street where it once stood now houses an office building.National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
, (

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

), Sycamore Historic District, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved January 29, 2007.

First Baptist Church

The First Baptist Church in

, is within the boundaries of the Sycamore Historic District and considered a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

to the historic district. As of 2007 the old First Baptist Church building was occupied by the Bethel Assembly of God. The First Baptist Church's congregation was founded in 1852. In their early years they met in Franklin Township and then, later at Sycamore's schoolhouse and in the DeKalb County Courthouse. Finally the church decided it needed a permanent building. The First Baptist Church building, erected in 1899, stands at the corner of Maple and Elm Streets in Sycamore, on a lot that was originally purchased from local citizen Hosea Willard.Sycamore Historic District Informational Poster, on site, corner of Elm and Somonauk Streets, Sycamore, Illinois. Photograph on Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 17 February 2007 Built 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 church features prominently arched windows. On both the west and south facades it feature large

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 ...

windows.Property Information Report
First Baptist Church
, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency . Retrieved 17 February 2007.

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in

, is considered a contributing structure to the historic integrity of the district and is one of seven Sycamore churches that were integral parts of the historic district when it was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.Property Information Report
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved 18 February 2007.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church

The Sycamore, Illinois St. Peter's Episcopal Church is listed as another contributing structure to the overall historic integrity of the Sycamore Historic District. The historic district was designated in 1978 when it joined the

. The church building was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey. It was erected in 1878 and consecrated in 1879 as a memorial to its primary benefactor

Sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

businessman James Waterman. Waterman paid the entire $17,000 construction cost himself. The building is said to be the oldest church in

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

. Constructed from Batavia stone the building's distinctive architectural integrity has been maintained through the years. It still features original

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

pews and

.Sycamore Historic District Informational Poster, on site, corner of Elm and Somonauk Streets, Sycamore, Illinois. Photograph on Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 17 February 2007

Old Congregational Church

Old Congregational Church, also known as Sycamore Baptist Church or First Congregational Church,National Register District Report
Sycamore Historic District
, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency . Retrieved 17 February 2007. is located at the corner of High and Somonauk Streets in

. The building, erected in 1884, was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey. Garnsey designed several prominent structure in Sycamore and DeKalb, including the Ellwood House and the David Syme House. The plans for the church appeared in Garnsey's planbook journal, ''National Builder'', at about the same time the building was constructed. After a 1978 lightning strike the building's main steeple underwent a renovation. Early church documents record members as staunchly

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

s, having participated in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

as early as 1844. The building is designed in

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

motif and its exterior is clad in stone.

Universalist Church/Arthur Stark House

The Universalist Church/Arthur Stark House is a residential structure in the

DeKalb County, Illinois DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 100,420. Its county seat is Sycamore. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolit ...

city of

. It is a contributing structure to the overall historic integrity of the Sycamore Historic District. This two-story

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

home was constructed in 1855. Early in its history it served as the Universalist Church. Later, it was purchased by Arthur Stark, for whom it served as a residence. Alonzo Ellwood, another member of the famed Ellwood family, was an original trustee for the Universalist Church, which once occupied this house. Before the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

the Universalist congregation was active in the abolitionist movement. Arthur Stark turned the building into a livable home after the Universalist Church relocated. He remodeled the house adhering to the Italianate architecture in his remodel. Stark worked as secretary at Marsh Harvester, an important and early Sycamore industry.Sycamore Historic District Informational Poster, on site, corner of Elm and Somonauk Streets, Sycamore, Illinois. Photograph on Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 17 February 2007

Notes

{{reflist, 2 Buildings and structures in Sycamore Historic District Churches on the Underground Railroad Underground Railroad in Illinois Tourist attractions in DeKalb County, Illinois Sycamore Historic District Historic district contributing properties in Illinois Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois