| Riverside Presbyterian Church • 116 Barrypoint Road • Riverside, Illinois 60546 • (708) 447-1520 Fax (708) 447-1525 • www.rpcusa.org |
Riverside Presbyterian Church
History
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116 Barrypoint Road
Riverside, Illinois 60546
Riverside, Illinois 60546
The chapel was intended to be used as a nondenominational union church;
however, in this early attempt at an ecumenical movement, the village planners
were ahead of their time. The Riverside churchgoers were not quite ready to
give up their strong denominational ties. Also, a struggling young church
needed financial support from the central church body. As a result, two groups,
one Presbyterian, one Episcopalian, shared the building for the first years of the
village's existence, alternating services every other Sunday.
In 1871, a financial panic swept the country and the Riverside Improvement
Company found its investment in jeopardy. The company was forced to
mortgage much of its property, including the Stone Church. The Episcopalians
were the first to rent the church. Meanwhile, the small band of Presbyterians
started meeting in the Refectory Building of the Riverside Hotel. By 1872, the
Presbyterians were ready for a more permanent home than a hotel parlor.
Arrangements were made by this group to take over the Stone Chapel. On
December 15, 1872, fifteen charter members entered into a covenant under the
name of the Presbyterian Church of Riverside.
Excerpt from Riverside Presbyterian Church 125 Years 1982-1997
by Bob Daily
however, in this early attempt at an ecumenical movement, the village planners
were ahead of their time. The Riverside churchgoers were not quite ready to
give up their strong denominational ties. Also, a struggling young church
needed financial support from the central church body. As a result, two groups,
one Presbyterian, one Episcopalian, shared the building for the first years of the
village's existence, alternating services every other Sunday.
In 1871, a financial panic swept the country and the Riverside Improvement
Company found its investment in jeopardy. The company was forced to
mortgage much of its property, including the Stone Church. The Episcopalians
were the first to rent the church. Meanwhile, the small band of Presbyterians
started meeting in the Refectory Building of the Riverside Hotel. By 1872, the
Presbyterians were ready for a more permanent home than a hotel parlor.
Arrangements were made by this group to take over the Stone Chapel. On
December 15, 1872, fifteen charter members entered into a covenant under the
name of the Presbyterian Church of Riverside.
Excerpt from Riverside Presbyterian Church 125 Years 1982-1997
by Bob Daily
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In 1868, a group of eastern businessmen formed a company to build a town on
the fringes of Chicago. They anticipated that citizens of that fast growing city
would soon be looking outside the city for cleaner, quieter, and more spacious
home sites. Calling themselves the Riverside Improvement Company, these men
purchased 1,600 acres alongside the Des Plaines River.
To design this "suburban" community they hired Frederick Law Olmsted, the
most eminent landscape architect in America. Olmsted's goal: to create an ideal
planned community, a "village in a park," one that combined (in his words) "the
conveniences peculiar to the finest modern towns with the domestic advantages
of a most charming country.
the fringes of Chicago. They anticipated that citizens of that fast growing city
would soon be looking outside the city for cleaner, quieter, and more spacious
home sites. Calling themselves the Riverside Improvement Company, these men
purchased 1,600 acres alongside the Des Plaines River.
To design this "suburban" community they hired Frederick Law Olmsted, the
most eminent landscape architect in America. Olmsted's goal: to create an ideal
planned community, a "village in a park," one that combined (in his words) "the
conveniences peculiar to the finest modern towns with the domestic advantages
of a most charming country.
One of those "conveniences," or was it
a "domestic advantage"? was a house
of worship. (Being businessmen, they
built a hotel first.) The town's first
church was constructed by the
Riverside Improvement Company in
either 1869 or 1870. Built of stone,
this picturesque little church
surrounded by dense woods of elm,
oak, hickory, and walnut trees came to
be known as the "Stone Chapel."
a "domestic advantage"? was a house
of worship. (Being businessmen, they
built a hotel first.) The town's first
church was constructed by the
Riverside Improvement Company in
either 1869 or 1870. Built of stone,
this picturesque little church
surrounded by dense woods of elm,
oak, hickory, and walnut trees came to
be known as the "Stone Chapel."
Above: A drawing of the original Stone Chapel, which
burned almost to the ground on March 16, 1879.
burned almost to the ground on March 16, 1879.