St. James Catholic Church and Cemetery (Lemont, Illinois)

Last updated
St. James Catholic Church and Cemetery
StJamesLemont.JPG
USA Illinois location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location10600 South Archer Avenue, Lemont, Cook County, Illinois, USA
Nearest city Lemont, Illinois
Coordinates 41°41′55″N87°55′57″W / 41.69861°N 87.93250°W / 41.69861; -87.93250
Area8 acres (3.2 ha)
Built1853
ArchitectCarr, Martin
NRHP reference No. 84001047 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 16, 1984

St. James Catholic Church and Cemetery, also known as St. James at Sag Bridge Church is a historic church and cemetery in the Sag Bridge area of the village of Lemont, Illinois. It is situated on a high bluff at the western tip of the glacier-carved Mount Forest Island, overlooking the Calumet Sag Channel and the community of Sag Bridge.

Contents

History

The site has been important for centuries as a lookout, including a French fort visited by Father Jacques Marquette on his journeys on the Des Plaines River several times in 1673; it is believed he conducted Catholic Mass at the fort. [2]

The church was founded in 1833 by workers building the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and first met in a rough log cabin. The present church building was built from 1853 to 1858 of locally quarried limestone painstakingly dragged up the steep hill. It was built on an ancient Native American trail, which has evolved into today's Archer Avenue (Illinois Route 171). [2]

On March 27, 1991, a tornado caused significant damage to Lemont and Sag Bridge, including the historic St. James church and cemetery. [3] The tornado lifted up the roof of the church and dropped it back down askew, and knocked over numerous trees and tombstones in the cemetery. A group of dedicated parishioners banded together as the St. James Preservation Society to repair the damage and restore their church. [2] [4]

St. James at Sag Bridge Catholic Church continues today in its historic role as the center of the Sag Bridge community. It is the only country parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 16, 1984, and is a contributing property of the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois and Michigan Canal</span> Canal system in Illinois (1848–1933)

The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran 96 miles (154 km) from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Portage, and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era. It was opened in 1848. Its function was partially replaced by the wider and deeper Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900, and it ceased transportation operations with the completion of the Illinois Waterway in 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemont, Illinois</span> Village in Illinois, United States

Lemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The population was 17,629 as of the 2020 census. The village is situated on a hillside along the south banks of the Des Plaines River. It overlooks Waterfall Glen's Midwestern Bluff Savanna on the opposite side. Lemont is home to Argonne National Laboratory and other heavy industrial sites, and has a substantial European immigrant population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodridge, Illinois</span> Village in Illinois, United States

Woodridge is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, with small portions in Will and Cook counties, and a southwestern suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 34,158.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darien, Illinois</span> City in Illinois, United States

Darien is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 22,011. A southwestern suburb of Chicago, Darien was named after the town of Darien, Connecticut. Darien is just north of I-55 and Historic U.S. Route 66. The entire south edge of the town borders Waterfall Glen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockport, Illinois</span> City in Illinois, United States

Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, located 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 26,094. The city was incorporated in 1853. It is situated along the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal, and was the headquarters of the canal when the canal was operating. A section of the canal runs through Lockport, including the remains of the canal's Lock No. 1 from which the town received its name. The canal right-of-way is now the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage Corridor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plainfield, Illinois</span> Village in Illinois, United States

Plainfield is a village in Will and Kendall counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 44,762 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit (Sainte-Anne-de-Détroit) was founded July 26, 1701 by French colonists in New France, and is the second-oldest continuously operating Roman Catholic parish in the United States. The current Gothic Revival cathedral-styled church, built in 1886, is located at 1000 St. Anne Street in Detroit, Michigan, in the Hubbard-Richard neighborhood, near the Ambassador Bridge, and the Michigan Central Station. At one time it was the seat of a diocese that included French territory in Ontario, Canada south of the Detroit River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Route 171</span> State highway in Will and Cook Counties, Illinois, US

Illinois Route 171 (IL 171) is a 38.61-mile-long (62.14 km) north–south state highway in northeastern Illinois. It runs from U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in Joliet north to Illinois Route 72 at the Chicago–Park Ridge border. The section of IL 171 on Archer Avenue from Joliet to Summit is historically significant, originating as a Native American trail, and later serving for a time as part of the first numbered highway between St. Louis and Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithuanians in the Chicago area</span>

Lithuanians in Chicago and the nearby metropolitan area are a prominent group within the "Windy City" whose presence goes back over a hundred years. Today the Chicago area possesses the largest Lithuanian community outside Lithuania, who have dubbed the city as Little Lithuania, and many Lithuanian Americans refer to it as the second capital of Lithuania. Lithuanian Americans from Chicago have had a significant impact on politics in both the United States and Lithuania. The population is currently declining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">America's Most Endangered Places</span> List by the U.S. National Trust for Historic Preservation

America's 11 Most Endangered Places or America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places is a list of places in the United States that the National Trust for Historic Preservation considers the most endangered. It aims to inspire Americans to preserve examples of architectural and cultural heritage that could be "relegated to the dustbins of history" without intervention.

SS. Cyril and Methodius in Lemont - historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, located in Lemont, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Aloysius Church (Washington, D.C.)</span> Historic church in Washington, D.C., United States

St. Aloysius Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish church at 19 I Street in the Near Northeast neighborhood of Washington, D. C. It is administered by the Jesuits since its founding and is named for St. Aloysius Gonzaga. It is often associated with Gonzaga College High School, to which it is physically connected. The church building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2012 the parish was closed and merged with Holy Redeemer church.

Sacred Heart Church is a historic church, part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, located in the South Deering neighborhood in Chicago, United States. It is located at 2864 East 96th Street. The church services are in Croatian and English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church is a Catholic church of the Archdiocese of Detroit located at 13770 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It is commonly known as the Assumption Grotto Church. The church community was founded in the 1830s, and the present building completed in 1929, designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1990 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Family Catholic Church (Fort Madison, Iowa)</span> Church in Iowa, United States

Holy Family Catholic Church is a parish of the Diocese of Davenport. The parish is the result of a merger between Saints Mary and Joseph Parish and Sacred Heart Parish in the city of Fort Madison, Iowa, United States. It maintains both of the former parish church buildings as worship sites. The oldest parish in town, St. Joseph, and St. Mary of the Assumption had merged in the 1990s. St. Mary of the Assumption Church, which became Saints Mary and Joseph, is located at 11th Street and Avenue E. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Sacred Heart Church is located at 23rd Street and Ave I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockport Historic District</span> Historic district in Illinois, United States

The Lockport Historic District, also known as the Canal and Downtown Area, is a set of fifty-nine buildings in Lockport, Illinois. Of these, fifty-six contribute to the historical integrity of the area.

St. James Catholic Church, or variations including and Cemetery or other, may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Patrick's Parish Complex</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

St. Patrick's Parish Complex is a historic church building, with associated rectory and cemetery, located at Northfield Church and Whitmore Lake Roads in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976. The complex is significant both because of its historical association with the early Irish Catholics in the area, and because of the architecturally important Gothic revival church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sag Bridge, Illinois</span> Unincorporated community in Illinois, United States

Sag Bridge, Illinois is an Unincorporated community in Lemont Township in southwestern Cook County, Illinois, United States. Sag Bridge is an important waterway junction between the Calumet Sag Channel and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. It is also the junction of IL 83 and IL 171 which meet at Sag Bridge to cross the Calumet Sag Channel together on the eponymous bridge. The community was named for a predecessor of the present bridge. It is within the village limits and postal delivery zone of Lemont, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John Nepomuk Parish Historic District</span> Historic church in Missouri, United States

St. John Nepomuk Parish Historic District is centered on the Catholic parish of St. John Nepomuk in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Staff. "Parish History". Historic St. James at Sag Bridge. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  3. "March 27, 1991 TORNADO". Lemont Area Historical Society and Museum. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  4. Mohr, Michele (1996-05-12). "Back From The Dead". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-09-16.