In 1937, Galesburg people celebrated the centennial of the founding of the city. Carl Sandburg returned and appeared at several events during the celebration. In 1987, a similar celebration was held to honor the 150 years of Galesburg. Part of the observances was the placing of markers at historic sites around the town. One of the markers was sponsored by the Pilot Club and placed on the east side of South Broad Street between Simmons and Tompkins.

On March 9, 1855, forty-seven members of the First Church which stood on the southwest corner of the Public Square, asked to be dismissed. Their intention was to start a new religious body named the First Congregational Church. They selected a plot of land, erected a brick building with a spire and called Edward Beecher, of the famous Beecher family, to be the minister.

A storm destroyed the spire and damaged part of the building on May 13, 1858. The church was finally completed in 1859. It became known as the Brick Church. The members of the congregation were strong abolitionists and supported the Civil War. Mary Ann Bickerdyke was a member of the church. She became famous during the war because of her sincere and diligent nursing of wounded soldiers. When she went to Cairo, Illinois, for the first time, she carried clothing, food, medicine and money from members of the Brick Church.

In 1894, the two congregations reunited and a new church was erected on the Public Square. It is now called Central Congregational Church. The old brick church passed to Knox College and later housed the Knox Conservatory of Music. The former church was named Beecher Chapel in honor of the first pastor. The college conducted chapel services there as well as recitals. Many public meetings with well-known speakers were held in the auditorium. In 1912, the Galesburg Woman’s Club co-sponsored a speech by Jane Addams in Beecher Chapel.

By 1963, the building was showing its age. The 56 by 85 foot building had been constructed with 18 inch thick walls on a rubble foundation. The roof was leaking and the stone lintels and sills were beginning to crack. The Knox College board of trustees hired a structural engineering firm to evaluate the safety of the old church. The engineers told the trustees that it would cost $100,000 to put the structure in safe condition. The cost of reconstruction was estimated to be $250,000. It was recommended that the college cease using Beecher Chapel at the end of the school year.

The trustees contacted state agencies for help. The agencies wanted the building to be maintained, but had no money to help. The community seemed uninterested in saving the structure. On March 10, 1966, a deconstruction crew moved in to tear down the building. The pipe organ was sold for parts. A few pews were given to the Knox County Historical Sites Association. Efforts were made to save some of the bricks for another use.

Thus, 110 years of Galesburg history disappeared. We have only a bronze plaque to remind us.