{"nrhp_refnum":"73000691","name":"Old Danish Church","other_names":["St. Peters Evangelical Danish Lutheran Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SE corner of Cook and Washington Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sheffield","county":"Bureau County","state":"IL","lat":41.35753377000003,"lon":-89.73510321299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-10-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Victorian-Gothic frame church building at the southeast corner of Cook and Washington Streets in Sheffield, Bureau County, Illinois, built in 1880 by members of its congregation. It was originally St. Peters Evangelical Danish Lutheran Church.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the church housed the oldest congregation of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, organized in 1869. It is described as the oldest surviving Danish Lutheran church structure in America, since an earlier one in Michigan was demolished. It is also tied to early Danish immigration through figures such as Hans Peder Bertelsen.","narrative":"Built in 1880 at the corner of Cook and Washington Streets in Sheffield, Illinois, this white clapboard church served the first Danish Lutheran congregation in America. The building is fifty-six feet long and thirty-two feet wide, with a seventy-five foot tower holding the original bell bought in 1885. Its Victorian-Gothic styling includes shutters and a gabled roof, and the foundation is flagstone. Inside, plaster walls have gold fresco borders, three symbolic ceiling frescoes with original kerosene chandeliers, a primitive crucifixion painting above the altar, and a baptismal font made by early members. Congregation members built the church, and the designer is unknown. Danish immigrants from Lolland began organizing in 1867, and the congregation was formally organized in 1869. The nomination states it is the oldest surviving Danish Lutheran church structure in America, because an earlier Michigan church was demolished. Native son Hans Peder Bertelsen later became a Lutheran minister, reflecting the church's place in early Danish immigration.","period_of_significance":"1880","architect_builder":"Designer unknown; built by members of the congregation","architectural_style":"Victorian-Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition on its original site and only slightly altered; the form notes the pews, chimney and wood shingle roof need restoration. Owned by the Village of Sheffield.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.828244-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/8917/28891732/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/73000691.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000691/bf9362f082-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000691/bf9362f082-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Kepper66","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Danish_Church_in_Sheffield.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Kepper66</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Danish_Church_in_Sheffield.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891732","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Danish_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24898909"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/bureau-county/old-danish-church-73000691/"}