Abolitionist Owen Lovejoy, born in Maine in 1811, moved into this two-story frame house in 1838 when he became a Congregationalist minister. He was a leader in the formation of the Republican Party in Illinois, served as a representative in the state legislature from 1855 to 1857, and served in the United States Congress from 1857 until his death in 1864. His home was well known as a shelter for runaway slaves. Owen was the younger brother of abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy, who was killed by a mob at Alton in 1837.