Since 1836, three churches have stood on this site. The first, a stone church built late in 1836 on the present site, stood on land donated by Enoch Long, who also donated the church bell. Elijah Parish Lovejoy served as its first pastor from January 8, 1837 to November 7, 1837. On October 25, 1837, Lovejoy held a meeting there to form the Anti-Slavery Society in Illinois, but a near riot broke out, and the meeting moved across the street to the Old Rock House the next day. Less than two weeks later, on November 7, 1837, Lovejoy was killed at the warehouse of Godfrey, Gilman & Co. while defending his fourth printing press, and he is considered a martyr for freedom of speech. The original church burned in 1858, and construction of a new frame building began at once, but financial problems and the Civil War delayed completion until its dedication on November 15, 1865. As a newer and larger church became necessary, that second structure was demolished, and the present church was dedicated on November 27, 1927. Across the street stands the Old Rock House, a stone double-dwelling built in 1834-35 by John Higham and Henry Caswell, a stone mason from New York, for the Rev. T.B. Hurlburt, pastor of the church and an intimate friend of Elijah Lovejoy. The first two anti-slavery meetings in Illinois were held there on October 26 and 27, 1837. The Anti-Slavery Society was formed with sixty members, and Lovejoy was elected corresponding secretary. The house also served as a station on the Underground Railroad. It originally had six dormer windows, but sometime during the 1910s the dormers were replaced with the present concrete block addition, and other changes were made through the years. Today it is an apartment complex.
