Old Danish Church

Historic church in Illinois, United States

United States historic place


Old Danish Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places


41°21′27″N 89°44′6″W / 41.35750°N 89.73500°W / 41.35750; -89.73500
Area	less than one acre
Built	1880 (1880)
NRHP reference No.	73000691^[1]
Added to NRHP	October 2, 1973

The Old Danish Church, also known as St. Peter's Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, is a historic church located at the southeast corner of Cook and Washington Streets in Sheffield, Illinois. The church was built in 1880 to house a congregation formed in 1869, which was made up of immigrants from Lolland, Denmark who had begun to loosely organize two years prior. This congregation was the oldest in the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which was not officially formed until 1874. The 1880 church is a Gothic Revival structure with a 75-foot (23 m) steeple; the steeple houses the original bell, which was added in 1885. The interior of the church features three frescoes on the ceiling and a painting of the crucifixion behind the altar; the altar, communion railing, and baptismal font are all original.^[2]

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 2, 1973.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ Schmitt, Margaret (November 10, 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Old Danish Church" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 5, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2016.