Bishop Hill Steeple Building

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The Steeple Building in winter 2011.
Photo courtesy of the Bishop Hill Heritage Association.

Bishop Hill Steeple Building

Bishop Hill Street and East Main Street

Bishop Hill, IL

Website:  Bishop Hill Heritage Association

The Treasure:  The Steeple Building is the most impressive of the town’s surviving structures that tell the story of the Bishop Hill Colony, a mid-19th century utopian community.

Accessibility:  Visit the archives and museum of the Bishop Hill Heritage Association within the Steeple Building.  Check their website for current hours.

The Bishop Hill Steeple Building reflected
in the Colony Store window.
Photo courtesy of the
Bishop Hill Heritage Association.

Background:  Faced with the vast and beautiful lands of the New World, visionary religious thinkers were inspired to find links between the Bible’s prophecies of a New Jerusalem and the American landscape. The Puritans were inspired by the promise of the New Jerusalem, some Quaker leaders spoke of the New Jerusalem, and visions of the New Jerusalem were a key part of the revelation of Joseph Smith in the founding documents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Born in Sweden in 1808, Eric Jansson was inspired by his own vision of a New Jerusalem waiting to be founded in the far-away land of the United States. While still a young man, he rebelled against the teachings of the Lutheran Church and called his followers to accompany him to found a new community in America’s Midwest. Approximately 1,200 of Jansson’s countrymen followed him on his trek half-way across the world. They sailed to New York then up the Hudson River, taking the Erie Canal to Buffalo and then across the Great Lakes to the western shore of Lake Michigan. Following a route recommended by a Swedish Methodist minister in New York, Jansson and his followers journeyed inland, staking their claim approximately 100 miles west of Chicago.

Life in the new Bishop Hill settlement was harsh during the first two years, with the settlers occupying 12 large dugouts where they lived in cramped, cold quarters. But the Janssonists—as they were called—persevered, dutifully accepting Jansson’s leadership and vision. Embracing hard work and a communitarian philosophy, they realized a fair degree of prosperity within five years. They built impressive dormitory living quarters, a church, a flour mill, two saw mills, a hotel, a colony store and post office, a school, and the Steeple Building (constructed in 1854).

The Bishop Hill Steeple Building, circa 1900.
Photo courtesy of the Bishop Hill Heritage Association.

But as with many radical 19th century experiments in utopian living, the Bishop Hill Colony fell as quickly as it rose. Eric Jansson was fatally shot by the disgruntled husband of one of his followers in May 1850. Power struggles ensued. For eleven years following Jansson’s murder, the Bishop Hill Colony struggled to remain true to the original calling to build the New Jerusalem in central Illinois—but without Jansson, it wasn’t possible. In 1861, the Bishop Hill Colony was formally dissolved and the communally-held land was evenly distributed among its members.

Today serving as home to the museum and archive of the Bishop Hill Heritage Association, the Steeple Building recalls the optimism of settlers creating community even as they faced enormous challenges. Built of brick and stucco, the Steeple Building’s prominent feature is a handsome clock tower with four clock faces, each keeping time with only a single hand. Originally intended to serve as a hotel, the Steeple Building was instead used over the years as a dormitory living quarters, a school, an administration building, a bank, a telephone office, and an apartment building complex.

A plaque at the Pioneer Monument at Bishop Hill reads:  “Dedicated to the memory of the hardy pioneers who in order to secure religious liberty left Sweden their native land with all the endearments of home and kindred and found Bishop Hill Colony on the uninhabited prairies of Illinois.”

Restoration work underway at the Steeple Building in 2012.
Photo courtesy of the Bishop Hill Heritage Association.

Restoration work at the Steeple Building.
Photo courtesy of the Bishop Hill Heritage Association.

Restoration work underway at the Steeple Building.
Photo courtesy of the Bishop Hill Heritage Association.

Other Recommended Sites:  The Bishop Hill Heritage Association works with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency to keep the historic structures of the Bishop Hill Colony accessible to the public. Check the website for information on tours of the Colony Church and Bjorklund Hotel. The Henry County Historical Museum can introduce the rest of the history of the area (it’s not all Janssonists!) and the Vasa National Archives has a special emphasis on the Swedish-American heritage that shaped the region. Information on local organizations, businesses, and upcoming events can be found at the Bishop Hill, Illinois website.

The distinctive clock tower on the Bishop Hill Steeple Building.
Photo courtesy of the Bishop Hill Heritage Association.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Friday’s destination:  Carlson Cottage

© 2012 Lee Price