A Little Bit of History
By Clara E. Scott
On the South Side of Madison and Third Street was the site of the old “Blue Church,” Presbyterian, that was built in 1833. The church derived its name from the beautiful windows, which were made of sky blue glass (Siegel). This made the old hand-made bricks reflect a blue cast. Rev. W. W. Hall was its pastor. A huge bell could have been seen through the tree mounted in the church tower. This bell was called the “Talking Bell.” It was tolled when death came to a citizen. It rang with glee at the birth of a new baby. It sounded whenever there was a call to volunteer fireman. In fact, it was the town’s “Crier.” It was at this Presbyterian Church that Elijah P. Lovejoy gave two sermons on October 1, 1837 in his crusade against slavery. These fiery sermons caused an unruly crowd to gather outside the home where he and his family were staying. They were spirited out of the building and quietly rowed across the river to safety. Five weeks later, on November 7, 1837, Lovejoy was murdered in Alton, Illinois and his press was demolished and thrown into the Mississippi River.
Today, buildings of Saint Joseph’s Health Center occupy this site.
(Information, in part reprinted, from Historical St. Charles, Missouri (Blue Book) dated 1967 by Edna McElhiney Olson with permission of the St. Charles County Historical Society and Richard G. Spernadio, her grandson)
