Downers Grove's oldest congregation will receive a bronze plaque Sunday when the Downers Grove Historical Society designates First United Methodist Church as its 2026 Historic Site of the Year.
The public ceremony runs from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at the church, 1032 Maple Ave., immediately after the morning worship service.
"We are honoring the church itself, not the building," Lois Sterba, a Historical Society board member and local historian, told Shaw Local.
Sterba's distinction matters. The congregation has occupied four different buildings across nearly 190 years. Circuit rider Rev. Stephen Beggs started holding meetings for area settlers in 1836. Families had decided the seven-mile trip to Cass Church was too far, especially in winter, so they gathered in a log school on Maple Street instead.
Men of the congregation built the first church in 1852 on land donated by Henry Carpenter and purchased from Sam and Mary Curtiss, according to the Downers Grove Historical Society. That building burned in 1879. A replacement went up for $5,000, featuring stained glass windows and what the Historical Society describes as the first spire in Downers Grove.
By 1894, the village had outgrown that structure too. A third church, nicknamed the "Welcome Church," cost $10,000. In the late 1920s, the congregation raised nearly $200,000 in donations and pledges to build the current sanctuary. Oak pews and the tower bell from the Welcome Church were moved into the new building and remain in use.
An education wing followed in 1965, and the Heartt Chapel was dedicated in 1969. That same year, the congregation changed its name from the Methodist Episcopal Church to First United Methodist Church.
Andi Kinsella, a Historical Society board member whose family has attended the church for generations, said the society picks sites that represent the community. Sterba said the church filled a central social role in early Downers Grove life, hosting funerals, baptisms, weddings and gatherings at a time when few other outlets for recreation existed.
The Historical Society has recognized a village building or site each year since 1997. The Carnegie Library received the 2025 designation. Residents interested in the church's full history can find a 175th anniversary booklet at dghistory.org.
Upcoming in the area
- Woodridge police are wearing pink patches through October for breast cancer awareness.
- Westmont Public Library's community garden earned a state teamwork award.
- Downers Grove is hosting three free events for LGBTQ History Month throughout October.
