The Lemont Area Historical Society has generously offered to share photos and accompanying information with Patch readers each week, depicting people, places and things from the village's storied past.

This week's featured photo is of Saint Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church at 305 Lemont Street, circa 1900. The cornerstone for the church was laid June 26, 1887, and the church thrived until Jan. 18, 1918, when an overheated furnace started a fire that gutted the structure’s interior.

Two weeks after the fire, the congregation voted to rebuild – and on Nov. 17, 1918, a new church building was dedicated with the original walls and a newly dug basement. The structure, without the tall steeple of yesteryear, still stands today at Lemont and Illinois streets.

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Discover more about Lemont history at the historical society museum in the Old Stone Church at 306 Lemont St. The museum is open to the public and welcomes visitors. For more information, visit the LAHS web site at http://www.lemonthistorical.org/ or contact lemontahs@sbcglobal.net.

The Lemont Area Historical Society also invites readers to share their photos of Lemont’s past, to be added to the LAHS archives.

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