Savoy plans may mean end of former church

Photo by: Rick Danzl/The News-Gazette

Desks inside the former United Methodist Episcopal Church, which was founded in 1886 and now serves as an office building for the Savoy Public Works Department.

SAVOY A prominent piece of Savoy's history may soon be up for grabs.

On the north side of Church Street, in the part of town locals affectionately refer to as "old town," stands the former United Methodist Episcopal Church. The building currently serves as offices for the Savoy Public Works Department but will soon no longer be needed as the village pursues a redevelopment of the area.

The building at 114 W. Church St. is actually the second Savoy Methodist Episcopal Church at the location.

In 1886, a building committee from the Methodist congregation was formed with the intention of constructing a church building on the property, which committee president J.H. Dunlap donated for that purpose. The building was blown down once during construction, but was completed and dedicated on Jan. 9, 1887.

On Feb. 10, 1895, fire destroyed both the church and the parsonage. Just seven months later, the new church building the one that still there today was completed.

By 1970, the Methodist community had grown to 179 members, and a new church building was constructed on Graham Drive. The name was changed to the Savoy United Methodist Church. A year later, the original church building was sold to the village of Savoy for $12,500.

The building was used as the Savoy Village Hall from 1971-2004, when the new Savoy Municipal Center at 611 N. Dunlap was completed. After that, the former church building was converted to the offices for the village's public works department.

Now, a new public works building is being constructed just west of the Savoy Municipal Center. Once the building is complete, all public works offices will be transferred there, and the former church will be left vacant.

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Savoy plans may mean end of former church