HOW WE GOT HERE

At the close of the Civil War, there was a stirring in Woodstock, Illinois. Before the War the quiet McHenry County Seat had been settled by two of the great strains of pioneer stock in America. The Scots-Irish pushed west along or ahead of advancing frontier line from Virginia and the Carolinas through Tennessee, Kentucky and the Ohio River country into the Old Northwest. Most were staunch Presbyterians when they settled down in one place long enough to build a church and hire a minister.

The other great migration began of Yankee stock in Massachusetts and pushed progressively west, generation after generation through the Connecticut Valley and the Green Mountains into up state New York. Via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes they spread over the upper Mid West. Younger sons would pack up their families, leave their fathers' established farms and head incrementally west. Most were Congregationalists, but it was hard to get the learned Congregational preachers to leave the comforts of the east for the rigor of virtual frontier. So in Woodstock the displaced Yankees had been content to worship with their Calvinist cousins, the Presbyterians.

But the war changed things. Many of the Presbyterian Scots-Irish remained Democrats and their loyalty to the Union was questioned by some. So it was that returning Union veterans and other old Yankee Republicans felt it was time to separate from the "Copperheads" and form their own church. In October of 1865 a small group met in the old courthouse to consider forming a Congregational Church. On October 24th they met again to draft a constitution, formulate a covenant of faith, and elect leadership. Orville Page was elected chairman and Abner Bidwell was the first Clerk. The Rev. J.J. Dixon was called as the first minister and served for the first two years. The First Congregational Church of Woodstock was born.

While meeting in various locations around town, most notably Phoenix Hall, congregational leadership wasted no time in establishing a permanent home in the community. In March of 1866 a plot of land on Dean Street, two short blocks from the square, was purchased. Construction began immediately and at a cost of $3000 a fine new wood frame church in the classic New England meeting house style was erected. The building was consecrated and occupied by Christmas, 1866. The new church boasted 450 seats, the most in town.

The large seating capacity proved unnecessary. Although the church quickly became an important part of community life, it never grew large and sometimes struggled. Throughout the remainder of the century it often proved difficult to recruit and keep qualified ministers. A succession of recent seminary graduate and failed ministers from larger churches paraded through the pulpit at one or two year intervals. Between Rev. Dixon's departure in 1868 and Rev. Roy B. Guild who assumed the pulpit in 1896, 15 ministers served the congregation. Only Rev. E.B. Boggess, who served three and a half years from 1884 to 1888, stayed more than two years.

Strong lay leadership was the key to the success of the First Congregational Church in those years. Many of Woodstock's leading families including the Hoys, Wheats, McConnels and Wrights attended the church. Members of the church frequently served in City, township and country government and were leading members of the Republican Party. Another member was the long time editor of the local newspaper. Meanwhile the ladies of the church were very active in local charity work and some became interested in social reform. Prohibition and women's suffrage both found strong adherents among the Congregationalists.

By the 1890's church was in robust good health. In 1897 a parsonage was built next door to the church on South Street, which no doubt encouraged Rev. and Mrs. Guild to extend their ministry through 1900. By that time it became apparent that the old church, while large, was not suitable for modern usage. It was not built for modern amenities like electric lights and indoor plumbing and the single large meeting room in the New England style did not easily accommodate small group meetings or a thriving Sunday School.

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