421 Elm Street
This church was built in 1869-1870 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also a Local Landmark. It has been in continuous use since that time, making it unique in Chillicothe.
As pioneers moved into the new Livingston County in the late 1830s and 1840s, congregations grew. There were no formal churches. Often, services were held in private homes or outside in pleasant weather. As Chillicothe the town grew, church groups began using existing buildings. Most were not open on Sundays so there was no conflict with allowing a church to use the building. Often, the building owner was also a church member.
In 1857 Chillicothe was included in a circuit of travelling Episcopal preachers along with Utica and Brunswick. The first sermon of Charles Deacon in Chillicothe was held on November 15, 1857. The following year he organized a “missionary congregation” which was the beginning of the local church.
Around 1859 the Episcopal congregation started meeting in the Presbyterian church, believed to be the Cumberland Presbyterians at Ann and Locust Streets. (That building still stands.)
Around 1864, Andrew Platter moved his family to town from the countryside and bought a building at 440 Locust Street (current address) and started his livery business. The upstairs also doubled as an opera house. The Platters were some of the founding members of the congregation and allowed the church to use their upper floor. The congregation met there for several years but found it to be “lacking a congenial atmosphere.”
Plans for a new church were started in 1869. A location in a residential neighborhood matched with the congregation’s family values and civic pride. The east side of the 400 block of Elm Street was chosen as the site. A St. Louis architectural firm was hired. Grace Episcopal was one of the earliest examples of a prefabricated building in Missouri. “The beams and uprights and interior wainscoting were all prepared in St. Louis and hauled by wagon to the site in Chillicothe.” The cornerstone was laid in August of 1869, and the building completed in 1870. The remainder of the interior woodwork including the podium, pulpit, pews, choir rail and alter rail was done by the Gier family who had an Altar Factory near St. Columban's Church. The church was consecrated in 1876 after it was fully paid for.
In 1857 Chillicothe was included in a circuit of travelling Episcopal preachers along with Utica and Brunswick. The first sermon of Charles Deacon in Chillicothe was held on November 15, 1857. The following year he organized a “missionary congregation” which was the beginning of the local church.
Around 1859 the Episcopal congregation started meeting in the Presbyterian church, believed to be the Cumberland Presbyterians at Ann and Locust Streets. (That building still stands.)
Around 1864, Andrew Platter moved his family to town from the countryside and bought a building at 440 Locust Street (current address) and started his livery business. The upstairs also doubled as an opera house. The Platters were some of the founding members of the congregation and allowed the church to use their upper floor. The congregation met there for several years but found it to be “lacking a congenial atmosphere.”
Plans for a new church were started in 1869. A location in a residential neighborhood matched with the congregation’s family values and civic pride. The east side of the 400 block of Elm Street was chosen as the site. A St. Louis architectural firm was hired. Grace Episcopal was one of the earliest examples of a prefabricated building in Missouri. “The beams and uprights and interior wainscoting were all prepared in St. Louis and hauled by wagon to the site in Chillicothe.” The cornerstone was laid in August of 1869, and the building completed in 1870. The remainder of the interior woodwork including the podium, pulpit, pews, choir rail and alter rail was done by the Gier family who had an Altar Factory near St. Columban's Church. The church was consecrated in 1876 after it was fully paid for.
The north and south walls were lined with painted and stained-glass windows in brilliant colors. The interior has dark walnut. A pipe organ was added in 1880 and rebuilt in 1924, 1975, and 2004.
The north and south walls were lined with painted and stained-glass windows in brilliant colors. The interior has dark walnut. A pipe organ was added in 1880 and rebuilt in 1924, 1975, and 2004.
In 1877 the ladies of the church put on a play at the new (second) City Hall. Money raised went to the church's Ladies' Working Society.
The church is seen below on the 1885 Sanborn map as a single-story wood frame building with some partitions to the east and northeast. A street names Amanda was directly south of the church. Archibald McVey's original brick (shown as pink) home is across the street and south one lot; McVey ran the New York Store for many years.
When Trinity Episcopal in Utica closed down in 1912, materials from it were used to build the Leeper Hall addition to Grace Episcopal. Several pieces of furniture were also brought over and used. Leeper Hall was a donation by Mary Leeper to honor the memory of her late husband, Andrew Leeper (original owner of the Leeper Hotel). The parsonage was located in the two-story victorian home to the north.
The church became a community center, with the first Boy Scout Troop in Chillicothe meeting here. Prior to the new high school being built in 1925, students came to the church hall to play sports; their school had no gymnasium. A shooting range was located on the second floor. During World War I, Grace Episcopal was one of the first places to welcome American Red Cross volunteers to roll bandages and make other needed items for the front lines.
It is not clear if Grace Episcopal Church is shown on this map. It would have been in the process of being planned in 1869 and possibly building would have started.
Most of the information for this page came from the book "Grace Episcopal Church 1858 to 2008, 150 Years of Worship and Service in the Name of Jesus Christ" written by Sue Rose Harter and her daughter Rosina Harter. This stresses the importance of knowing your history AND writing it down to share with others through the years!