Founded in 1812 while this part of the country was still a wilderness and before Illinois was a state, Big Prairie Church was one of the oldest Methodist churches in Illinois when it closed in December 2017. Early settlers Robert Land, John Hanna, and Joseph Pomeroy were instrumental in organizing and establishing the church. The first services alternated between the cabins of John Hanna and Robert Land. In 1821, services were moved to a school house until 1863, when a frame church was built on this site. A brick church built on this site and dedicated on June 4, 1899, served generations of local families. For over two centuries, the church guided the spiritual lives of scores of families both local and afar through its outreach and ministries.