Crossroads Methodist Church

Our history begins in 1828 when the Illinois Circuit Rider Jesse Walker began a regular schedule and included Washington in his many stops. Our first church building was constructed in 1839. It was located north of the corner of Jefferson and North Main and was a colonial style building with a tower. In 1866, during the time when the South was rebuilding after the Civil War, a new church was built on Elm Street.

The 10,500 structure was to become the third largest church in the Peoria area and was considered a “magnificent edifice”. Our beautiful church bell, which is currently displayed in our present church, was cast in 1848 in the Buckeye Foundry of Cincinnati, Ohio. Its original use was in an Illinois River steamboat until fire destroyed the vessel. In June of 1924, a tornado damaged the building so that the sanctuary was unsafe, but services were held on the ground floor. One year later, a successful rebuilding campaign resulted in the dedication of the new church on April 18, 1926.

During the interval between destruction and rebuilding, services were held at the Washington City Building. April of 1928 saw the Washington Methodist Church celebrating its centennial. Following the lean years of the depression, the town of Washington and our church continued to experience expansion. The 1950’s and 1960’s were years of growth in attendance. The basement annex was added as well as an addition to the upper part of the building. The year 1956 saw a name change from Washington Methodist Episcopal Church to Washington Methodist Church. Another change came in 1968 with the name Washington United Methodist Church.

Major expansion and remodeling came about in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The Educational Building was dedicated and significant improvements and additions were made to the church, including an elevator. And then, church attendance continued to grow until we made the decision to move from Elm Street church to our present location at the corner of North Main Street and the Bypass Route 24.

The first service in our new building was held on February 11, 2001. We changed the name of the church on June 1, 2005 to Crossroads United Methodist Church. June 10, 2007 marks the day for groundbreaking of our new addition, including a new nursery suite, additional classrooms and a new sanctuary. We moved into the sanctuary in November 2008.  The church has continued to grow from the original 250 people at Elm Street to over 800 at Main Street.