{"nrhp_refnum":"75000661","name":"Lind, Jenny, Chapel","other_names":["Swedish Lutheran Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW corner 6th and Oak Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Andover","county":"Henry County","state":"IL","lat":41.29158454800006,"lon":-90.29890185199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-04-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small rectangular brick church building, about 30 by 44 feet, at the southwest corner of Sixth and Oak Streets in Andover, Henry County, Illinois. Construction began in 1851 and the chapel was dedicated December 3, 1854.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that it is the first church building erected on American soil by Swedish Lutheran immigrants and is the cradle of Swedish-American Lutheranism. It was the mother church of the Augustana Synod, which later merged into the Lutheran Church in America. It also follows the pattern of rural late Greek Revival churches, most of which have disappeared.","narrative":"Jenny Lind Chapel is a small brick church at Sixth and Oak Streets in Andover, Illinois, measuring roughly 30 by 44 feet. Local brick walls were stuccoed and painted white, and the simple gabled form with a pilastered front reflects the late Greek Revival churches once common in rural Illinois. Inside are a plain open room, a raised wooden chancel with a varnished rail and tall pulpit, an early pedal organ and an oil chandelier. Swedish Lutheran settlers built it under Pastor Lars Paul Esbjorn, beginning in 1851 and dedicating it on December 3, 1854. Funds came from German Lutheran congregations in the East and from the singer Jenny Lind, for whom it is named. It is regarded as the first church building erected in America by Swedish Lutheran immigrants and the mother church of the Augustana Synod, which later merged into the Lutheran Church in America.","period_of_significance":"1851-1854","architect_builder":"Built by the parishioners under Pastor Lars Paul Esbjorn; no architect named","architectural_style":"Late Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition, with a modern furnace installed in 1973 and restoration work under way; the form checks Unoccupied status and a religious present use.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.519972-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/8929/28892984/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/75000661.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000661/6dfad0a063-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000661/6dfad0a063-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"MattHucke","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jenny-lind-chapel.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">MattHucke</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:Jenny-lind-chapel.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892984","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Lind_Chapel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23073330"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/henry-county/lind-jenny-chapel-75000661/"}