'Cornerstone Of Lemont Community' Needs Your Help: Historical Society Launches Save Our Steeple Campaign

LEMONT, IL — For over 150 years, the steeple at the Old Stone Church has stood tall over Lemont. However, time has taken its toll and the steeple is now in urgent need of repairs.

The Lemont Historical Society, which has found its home in the Old Stone Church, is committed to preserving the building, including the steeple. Repairs to the steeple will cost $64,000, and the historical society has created a GoFundMe campaign so that the community can contribute to help preserve the historical landmark.

The Old Stone Church, previously known as the Lemont Methodist Episcopal Church, was first constructed in 1861, Lemont Historical Society President Terry Blanz told Patch.

"It has stood as a cornerstone of the Lemont community for more than 164 years," Blanz said.

The church was deeded to the Lemont Area Historical Society in 1970, and then added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

"We are committed to preserving it, but we cannot always do it alone," Blanz said.

S.O.S., or Save Our Steeple, has been in the works for years at the historical society, as the group planned on how to best do the project. Previous work includes a roof replacement in 2017, and a repainting of the steeple in 2010, but this upcoming project is more extensive.

Blanz said a steeple has two parts; a square bottom called the tower, and the top, which is called a spire.

"Our tower has wooden louvers that are rotting and need to be replaced," he said. "Also at the bottom of the four sides of the tower, there is metal flashing that has now rusted and will require chemical cleaning and painting."

These repairs are all part of the historical society project, he said. The project also includes painting the entire steeple, repainting the soffit and fascia, new gutters and down spouts, shingles over the entire roof, and adding an entire roof vent system, among other items.

The church's historical spire is unique in Lemont, Blanz said.

"It does not just rise up in a cone, it goes in and out and is beautiful," Blanz said. However, unlike nearby cone church steeples, this steeple can't be clad in metal.

"...So it needs to be painted, not just for its unique shape, but also to keep it as is, as part of the National Register of Historic Places," Blanz said.

The historical society's Building Committee has been working on the project for three years, meeting with an architect, two structural engineers and several contractors, before it chose ASI Construction for the job.

The historical society directors voted in July to move forward with the project, and at its general membership meeting in September, and 100 percent of attending membership said "yes" to the project as well.

You can find the GoFundMe here, or you can choose to make a tax-deductible donation directly to the Lemont Historical Society online or at the museum itself, at 306 Lemont St.