Cyndi Loza

Gary Memorial United Methodist Church, 224 N. Main St., was honored March 7 by the Illinois State Historical Society for being a church organization for more than 150 years.

Founded in 1860, the church was originally called The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Wheaton. The name was changed to Gary Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church in 1900 when Elbert H. Gary, organizer and president of U.S. Steel Corp., purchased the church and donated the building in honor of his parents. After a fire in 1929, the sanctuary was rebuilt and later named Gary Memorial United Methodist Church.

Then

The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Wheaton served its congregation of about 200 from 1860 to 1901. Gary Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church continued to be a sanctuary for Methodists until Jan. 7, 1929, when the building was burnt down after the heating system erupted. Within months after the fire, the congregation pledged two-thirds of the total cost to rebuild. Battling the economic depression and stock market crash, Gary Memorial United Methodist Church was rebuilt in 1930.

Now

Today, Gary Memorial United Methodist Church seats about 750 and has a congregation of about 1,000. In 2007, the church expanded its education facilities by reconfiguring rooms meant for children in first through third grades. The sanctuary also received a new common room area.