About four miles west and one mile south of Grand Ridge in Farm Ridge
township is a beautiful building known as Saint Andrew's Episcopal church. It is
surrounded by very beautiful trees and an old cemetery.
In the spring of
1835 pioneer settlers came from New Milford, Connecticut. They settled here to
make homes in the wilderness, which was surrounded by Indians. The settlers soon
made arrangements to hold services at certain times in a schoolhouse which was a
little west of what is now known as the Pratt place. These services were held in
this way until 1851, when Saint Andrew's Episcopal church was established. A
frame building was erected where the present church now stands. The first church
cost about twelve hundred dollars. Material was brought from Chicago by the men
who had taken their produce to Chicago, which was then the nearest trading post.
Beebe Clarke gave seven acres of land for the church and cemetery.
The
first minister of the church was Rev. Warner, who remained here until 1857. Rev.
Woodward then took his place. After a year Rev. Henry Hiester took charge of the
church. He was minister here for forty-four years.
Rev. Hiester was
known and loved by all. He was satisfied to stay here instead of going to a
larger parish. Rev. Hiester received about four hundred dollars a year. He did
not have to depend entirely upon this for his living. The people of the
community used to have donation parties on the minister. He also used to husk
corn on week days. He finally passed away at the home of his niece in Oklahoma,
in 1906. The remains were sent back to Farm Ridge cemetery and laid to rest near
his wife and daughter.
The next spring a new church was built. This was
made of brick, costing about five thousand dollars. Sheds were built for
carriages and such at the rear of the church. The church is not large, but it is
large enough for the needs of the congregation. It will seat about one hundred
persons. It has a furnace and is lighted by electricity.
The large
memorial window over the chancel was a gift of Beebe and Susan Clarke to the
Woman's Guild.
It was decided that instead of a pastor living there, a
pastor from Streator should come out weekly in the afternoons. This arrangement
existed for a long time. But now the congregation is large enough to support its
minister, and now he lives in what was used for the first parish house. A new
parish house was recently built.
Every year it was the custom to have a
Harvest Home Festival. The church is always decorated in fall colors and is
enjoyed by all. These festivals are generally given in September or October.
If the pioneer settlers could only gaze back upon this beautiful new church
they would wonder and admire it forever, because it is different from the church
they built.
Extracted 08 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 28.
| Lee | DeKalb | Kane |
| Bureau |
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Kendall |
| Putnam | Grundy | |
| Marshall | Woodford | Livingston |
