The Early Years

The church building on Church and Haven Streets, where St. John Chapel currently resides, is typical of country church buildings constructed around the turn of the century. It was built in 1898 on land donated by John Francis who was a prominent in the early years of New Lenox Township. The church was the second church of the Methodist Episcopal community which was founded in New Lenox in 1850. It is a two-story frame structure with the sanctuary on the second floor. The first floor had church school classrooms and a fellowship hall. The steeple housed a bell with a cross on the top.

The new church was the first to have gas lighting and wooden sidewalks and was noted for its beautiful stained glass windows donated by the Francis family. The large window of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane was donated in memory of Abraham and Mary Francis, Christ walking in the Garden was donated in memory of A. Allen Francis, and the Guardian angels in memory of Allen and Dwight Francis. Christ holding a lamb was donated in memory of Carrie Francis. The family patriarch, Abraham Francis, came to the New Lenox area in 1831. He died in 1899 and is buried in the family cemetery where he and his wife, Mary, and their 11 children are also buried. The family cemetery later became part of Maplewood Cemetery located about a block west of the church.

 

The church steeple was struck by lightning and severely damaged in a storm in 1930. The bell tower was redesigned after the storm; the upper section and the cross were removed. In the 1950’s the building was expanded by adding an educational wing to the rear of the church. In 1977, needing more space but limited by the footprint of the land, the Methodist community built a new church on the campground property* a few blocks west on Haven Street. The old church was sold to a commercial company which went bankrupt in 2008. From 2008 until 2016 the building was held in receivership by the bank and was up for sale. During this time, the building was rented to startup churches. Victory Baptist Church used the sanctuary until December of 2015 and from then until now it is the residence of St. John Orthodox Chapel. The building was put on the auction block without obtaining any takers; and then sold in January 2017 to a realty company. A final sale was negotiated in February 2018 to the New Lenox Area Historical Society.

 

Since the sale of the building to the New Lenox Area Historical Society, many improvements were and are still being made. The stained glass windows have been  completely restored by Cathedral Stained Glass Studios.  Twenty church pews were donated, Commonwealth Edison has donated and installed new lighting throughout the entire building, plaster walls have been repaired and the entire building was painted. Future plans include installing an elevator, adding a meeting room with a kitchen and restoring the bell tower to its original design. Until an elevator is installed, we have a stair-lift chair on the west side of the chapel to aid those who have a problem with the front steps. 

A petition has been submitted to the National Register of Historic Places to list the building on its National Registry and preserved for its historical significance.