adapted from The Church in the City
by Rima Lunin Schultz

The history of the congregation and church now known as the Cathedral of St. James is closely linked with that of the City of Chicago, going back to the city's very first days. Incorporated in 1833, this bustling little community of 350 was soon welcoming hundreds of new residents every month. These new residents joined earlier pioneers, all of them drawn to the opportunities for building new lives and fortunes in this new city out on the edge of the American frontier.

At a time when the comforts and consolations of religion were a daily reality for almost every American, building churches was an important priority for many early Chicagoans, at least once the business of doing business was underway. However, getting a congregation organized was a real challenge on many levels, due to financial strains, the rough-and-tumble nature of life on the frontier, and the small number of clergymen willing to risk starting a new ministry out here in the “wilderness”.

Determined to overcome these obstacles and create an Episcopalian presence in the young city, two of Chicago’s most prominent early residents, the merchant/investor/entrepreneur John H. Kinzie and his wife Juliette, took a lead in organizing their friends and neighbors to create Chicago’s first Episcopal congregation. From its first service held on October 12, 1834 in the Presbyterians’ meeting house, the new congregation never looked back.

Formally organized as St. James Parish within several months, the new congregation began to grow right away. By Easter Sunday 1837, the congregation was worshipping in a new brick church on a plot of wild prairie land at what is now the corner of Wabash (then called Cass) Avenue and Illinois Street (a few blocks south of the current location). At that time this was “the edge of civilization”.

The early members of St. James were important in Chicago’s early history, as is remembered today with parishioner names such as Kinzie, Newberry, Hubbard and Larrabee still commemorated in the names of institutions, parks and even streets across the city. As Chicago boomed, so too did St. James Church.

By the 1850s, St. James had become one of the most important churches in the city. As parish home for many of the city’s business and civic leaders and their families, St. James also welcomed hundreds of other Chicagoans from all walks of life into the constantly growing congregation. Membership grew so rapidly that a new and much larger Joliet limestone Gothic Revival church was soon built at the current location, the corner of Cass (now Wabash) Avenue and Huron Street. By 1857, the new church was welcoming even larger numbers of people to its services. Nestled in the city’s most prestigious neighborhood, St. James’ civic prominence was underscored when Abraham Lincoln worshipped there on the morning after his nomination to the Presidency in 1860.

The Civil War that followed Lincoln’s election brought both turmoil and great riches to the hard-working people of Chicago. Although many parishioners profited handsomely as business-owners or investors, the human cost of the War was also a reality for St. James. Of the 70 members of St. James who enlisted in the Union’s armed forces, 10 young men lost their lives. To salute their sacrifice, the congregation built a memorial to them in the church’s narthex, designed by Frederick Withers, of New York’s Vaux, Withers & Olmstead, one of the most significant firms in American architectural history.

The congregation’s tremendous growth during and after the Civil War led the vestry to enlarge and redecorate the church on a grand scale. Among improvements was the creation of Chicago’s finest organ, a fact celebrated in newspapers across town. Also incorporated into the renewed building was the Civil War Memorial’s fire-proofing that was specially funded by the family of Chicago’s first mayor (and St. James parishioner) W.B. Ogden. It proved its value all too soon after its completion.

Only a few weeks after the splendidly redesigned and improved church was formally rededicated, tragedy struck the entire city. The Great Chicago Fire, which erupted on October 8, 1871, devastated businesses, churches and the homes of rich and poor alike across the central city. Among the thousands left homeless was the sizeable congregation of St. James Parish. In fact, thanks to the Ogdens’ farsighted gift, the Civil War Memorial was one of the very few parts of the church that survived the Fire, joining the tower and portions of the façade and the nearby Chicago Water Tower among the few structures left standing amid the ruins.

The stories and photographs of the Fire’s destruction shocked the nation and the world. But just like everyone else in this shaken but confident city, the congregation stepped up to the challenge of rebuilding their lost homes and businesses, along with their spiritual home.

In 1875, exactly four years and one day after the Great Fire, a newly rebuilt and even more splendidly appointed church was officially completed and blessed. One of the most enduring and visible testaments to that restoration still visible today is the solid brass altar cross donated by former mayor Julian Rumsey and family to replace the previous gift that literally melted in the Fire.

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1837 Brick Church at Cass and Illinois Streets

The new building 1870

After the fire only the tower, a few walls and the foundation survived.


Photos couretsy of the Chicago Historical Society