A Piece of Dixon History: Dixon’s first Baptists, Episcopalians and Presbyterians

Editor’s Note: This is the third of three installments about the history of religion in Dixon.

In parts 1 and 2 of this series, we learned about Dixon’s inaugural Christian meeting on Christmas Day of 1836, an assembly of Christians from several denominations who were concerned about the “wicked” presence of outlaw gangs (the banditti) in the area. The Methodists were the first to organize in 1837, but the Baptists and Episcopalians would soon follow. All these churches would share the use of Dixon’s first school house, erected in 1837.

In that first year, when Methodist preachers were visiting Dixon only occasionally, an Episcopal minister, the Rev. James DePui (or DePuy), came to town. According to an 1893 Lee County history, “Both Father and Mother Dixon were so anxious that some minister should settle here ... they offered him his choice of a lot if he would stay.”

DePui agreed and built a house in North Dixon, probably near today’s John Dixon Park. At “the first donation party ever given in the county,” DePui’s son saw so many donated hams hanging in their new home that he told his mother they would have to eat ham the rest of their lives.

Meeting in the schoolhouse

Like the Methodists, the Episcopal church, too, met in the old school house near Oakwood Cemetery. Dr. Oliver Everett, who arrived here in 1836, later recalled those early meetings in the schoolhouse.

“It was within its rough brown walls that the venerable and revered Bishop (Philander) Chase, then senior bishop of the American Episcopal church, first ... broke to them the bread of the sacrament,” he said.

However, DePui left about 12 months later, and the progress of the Episcopalians was suspended. But the work resumed by 1845, and the first Episcopal church building was erected in 1856 near the current site of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, which itself was dedicated in 1872.

1838: Baptist beginnings

The spark ignited by the 1836 Christmas meeting continued to flame. The Baptists officially organized May 28, 1838, “under the auspices” of two women: Rebecca (Sherwood) Dixon and her sister, Sarah (Sherwood) Kellogg, wife of Oliver Kellogg of Kellogg’s Trail and Kellogg’s Grove fame.

But this church, officially known as the Regular Baptist Church of Dixon and Buffalo Grove, actually started 11 miles north of Dixon at Buffalo Grove, an early village next to today’s Polo.

Rebecca lived in Dixon, and Sarah lived in Buffalo Grove; the two wanted the church to serve both areas.

Seven people were its founding members. Of these, six were women. But 11 miles was quite a hike in those days. After four years of maintaining this long-distance relationship, the Dixon and Buffalo Grove Church amicably separated into two churches in 1842.

Raising the Baptist building

The Dixon Baptists initially met in the same schoolhouse used by the Methodists and Episcopalians. But within a few years, the Baptists needed more room and sought to raise funds to build their own church building.

Can you guess who led the way? A Lee County history says Rebecca Dixon rode her own horse and buggy all the way from Dixon to Galena, collecting donations as she went.

As a result, the Baptists built their first church structure in 1849 on East First Street near Ottawa Avenue. The current Baptist building, across from the courthouse on Second Street, was dedicated in 1872. For that building, John Dixon led the list of donors with a $200 pledge.

What about the Presbyterians?

Since Presbyterian Eliza Hamilton participated in that landmark meeting on Christmas Day of 1836, you might wonder why the Presbyterian Church also didn’t start at an early date. The answer might be found in Hamilton’s story.

Sadly, she died in her early 30s, around 1842. It’s possible that her untimely death affected any progress made toward establishing that church.

But the Presbyterians finally were organized in 1853, and they met, as did all the others, in the old schoolhouse. They built their first church building in 1856 on Galena Avenue near the church’s current location on East Third Street. Their current building was erected in 1866.

Banishing the banditti

So, whatever happened to the banditti and the “wickedness” that prompted the need for Dixon to get religion? Well, they didn’t leave without a fight.

In the late 1830s, the outlaw gangs continued their “reign of terror.” In 1841 they even burned down the first Ogle County courthouse. But area residents were determined to banish the banditti.

That determination likely began with the three Christian women and the Christmas church meeting of 1836. After Methodists organized in 1837 and the Baptists in 1838, the community had two organized institutions that weekly promoted the practice of upright and respectful behavior.

After religion gained a foothold in 1836, the community built its first schoolhouse in 1837, elected its first sheriff in 1839 and built its first courthouse and jail in 1840. Having established religion, education, law enforcement and government, Dixon had erected the foundations of a civil society.

Finally, according to the 1878 History of Ogle County, the outlaw gangs that had “defiled and corrupted the country” had broken up and dispersed by 1845.

• Dixon native Tom Wadsworth is a writer, speaker and occasional historian. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament.