History of the First Baptist Church of LaGrange
The Village of La Grange was incorporated in 1879. Five years later, on April 29, 1884, at the home of Myron T. Baldwin, 27 people voted "that all members of Baptist Churches, having organized themselves to each other, do organize themselves as the First Baptist Church of LaGrange". Reverend J.O. Metcalf, a station agent who held services at the railroad depot, and M. Shirk organized the First Baptist Church of LaGrange. Reverend Joshua E. Ambrose served as the first pastor.
The first church, a white frame building, was built in 1886 (dedication of the church was January 14, 1887) at Bell and Ashland on land donated by the village founder and president, F.D. Cossitt. The founders of the church were not particularly wealthy (only one member owned his house and none were making over $100 per month), therefore they gladly welcomed a gift of stone and an offer to handle the masonry work of the new building. The church was enlarged in 1893 (old sanctuary which came to be the gymnasium) and 1906 (the south wing for kitchen and dining purposes). In 1919 the church adopted the name LaGrange Baptist Church.
An English Gothic structure of Greendale brick and Bedford stone facings was constructed on the corner of Ashland and Bell, replacing the first church in 1924. (The corner stone was laid during a service on January 27, 1924.) Over the entrance to the building the congregation placed a representation of the Cross, Star of Hope and the Ship of the Church, all symbolic and rich in traditional value.
The 1950's saw many changes to the church. In 1950 Fellowship Hall and Memory Chapel (where one can find the Psalmist Window) were completed and classrooms were constructed and modernized. Six years later, the congregation changed the name back to the First Baptist Church of LaGrange. In 1959 membership reached its historic peak (957) and 20 families left to form what eventually became the Grace Baptist Church in Downers Grove.
The last of the major renovations came in 1963 when the construction of an educational wing expanded the church to cover all of the land between Ashland and Catherine along Bell.
In 1919 a resolution was made: "that a strong, aggressive Baptist Church, giving special attention to religious activity and community service, can and ought to be maintained in LaGrange". Throughout the years, First Baptist Church of LaGrange has tried to be such a church.
Sources:
Images Of Americas: LaGrange and LaGrange Park, Illinois by RoseAnna and Robert Mueller
LaGrange Centennial History by William J. Cromie, Editor
First Baptist Church of LaGrange Archives