St. Paul's Lutheran Church History

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Christ Is Our Cornerstone -Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

St. Paul's Lutheran Church, in December of 2009, begins the celebration of the 1859 founding of the church, and the 1864 establishment of the school. By the grace of God, our congregation is proud to have been able to serve Him and proclaim the good news of His salvation to this community for 150 years.

It was a major undertaking for the early families who felt the need for a Lutheran church in Kankakee. Indications are that pastors from Crete, Illinois and Cooper's Grove, Illinois, rendered pastoral services here for the first years. The first services were held in homes, and 69 men are named on an 1860 list of members. Early records indicate that it took several years to gather together this congregation. One statement in these records tells us that a lot for a future church building was bought in 1856 for $80. Besides private homes, the courthouse, the public school and a store building were mentioned as places where worship services were held until the first church was completed in 1864. Located on the northeast corner of Chestnut Street and North East Avenue, this first church for St. Paul's was dedicated on August 14, 1864. This first church was quite small, and in April, of 1872 it was decided to look for temporary quarters for the church and school so a larger second church could be constructed on that site.

This new church was dedicated on September, 1872. Sadly, in May, 1887, a major fire in Kankakee destroyed not only St. Paul's new church, but another church, a portion of the business district and some nearby homes. The destruction of the church was caused by a burning shingle from several blocks away landing on the steeple of the church while a congregational meeting was taking place inside. The meeting was quickly adjourned, but the church could not be saved.

Credit for establishing St. Paul's School is given to the second pastor of St. Paul's, who added teaching to his pastoral duties. The school was so successful that by 1901, enrollment in the school had neared 100. The third and present church was constructed on the comer of Merchant Street and Dearborn Avenue. This new stone building was dedicated on December 9, 1888. School classes were held in the Church basement. In 1917, plans were adopted to build a school next to the church. As enrollment grew, groundbreaking for an annex to this building took place in 1958. Increased enrollment resulted in a new school being built in 1976 on Butterfield Trail in West Kankakee. A further change took place when another new school building was constructed on the corner of Career Center Road and Burns Street in Bourbonnais. This was dedicated in July, 2009, and these plans include the construction of a church as part of the complex. In this way the church and school will, again, be united as one.

Our 150-year history continues to show the blessing hand of God. "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever."