Willow Springs Mennonite Church (Tiskilwa, Illinois, USA)
Scan courtesy Mennonite Church USA Archives-Goshen X-31.1, Box 17/28
The first Amish Mennonite settlers to Bureau County, Illinois, USA, came from the Palatinate, and especially Bavaria in Germany. Some came via Butler County, Ohio.
In the fall of 1836, Joseph Albrecht crossed to the west side of the Illinois River, across from Putnam County, because the land was cheaper. Other families soon joined him. Church services began from the beginning of the Hennepin settlement in Putnam County. Jacob Burkey served as the first minister, followed by Daniel Holly, Andrew Zimmerman, and Michael Kistler. These ministers came from varied backgrounds and held differing theological positions, resulting in difficulties within the group. In 1911, the more progressive portion of the church established a Central Conference Mennonite Church (later General Conference Mennonite) that eventually became the Tiskilwa Bible Church.
The Willow Springs Amish Mennonite congregation built its first meetinghouse in 1873. It had already organized a Sunday school in 1866, perhaps in a local school. The church building was destroyed by lightning in 1896 but was immediately rebuilt and later enlarged several times.
After the nearby Plow Creek Fellowship closed in 2017, members of Willow Springs established a new non-profit, Hungry World Farm. The new venture intended to educate people about food production, distribution, and consumption; address spiritual hunger in people’s lives; train local and international interns in farming techniques; and provide retreats for holistic growth and health. Many remaining Plow Creek members also transferred to Willow Springs.
Bibliography
Heinzekehr, Hannah. "Plow Creek Fellowship closing at the end of 2017." TheMennonite 22 August 2017. Web. 5 March 2024. https://anabaptistworld.org/plow-creek-fellowship-closing-end-2017/.
Smith, Willard H. Mennonites in Illinois. Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite History, 24. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1983: 69-70, 100, 238, 552-553.
Weber, Harry F. Centennial History of the Mennonites of Illinois. Goshen, Ind.: The Mennonite Historical Society, 1931: 222-236. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/centennialhistor00webe.
Additional Information
Address: 16621 Kentville Road, Tiskilwa, Illinois 61368
Phone: 815-646-4287
Website: https://willowspringsmennonite.church/
Denominational Affiliations: Illinois Mennonite Conference
Pastoral Leaders at Willow Springs Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Jacob Burkey | ca. 1835-? |
| Daniel Burkey | 1836-? |
| Daniel Holly (1816-1887) | 1848-ca. 1855 |
| Andrew Zimmerman (1834-1893) | 1855-ca. 1871 |
| John Michael Kistler (1808-1876) | 1857-1862 |
| Joseph Burkey (1833-1920) (Bishop) |
1868-1869 1869-1920 |
| Joseph Stauffer (1846-1903) | by 1871-1903 |
| Andrew Oesch (1848-1940) | 1874-1877 |
| Jacob Ringenberg (1849-1917) | 1889-1917 |
| Chancy A. Hartzler (1876-1947) (Bishop) |
1913-1914 1914-1947 |
| Ira H. Eigsti (1895-1964) | 1919-1949 |
| Charles Warren "C. Warren" Long (1904-1969) | 1949-1968 |
| Milo F. Kauffman (1898-1988)(Interim) | 1970 |
| Donald J. Heiser (1926-2005) | 1971-1986 |
| Brad Faler | 1986-1990 |
| Calvin D. Zehr | 1991- |
| Jacob L. Landis | 2019?- |
Willow Springs Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1913 | 167 |
| 1920 | 178 |
| 1930 | 161 |
| 1940 | 174 |
| 1950 | 119 |
| 1960 | 141 |
| 1970 | 126 |
| 1980 | 133 |
| 1990 | 94 |
| 2000 | 77 |
| 2009 | 61 |
| 2020 | 64 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Harold S. Bender. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 958. All rights reserved.
Willow Springs Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), located 4 miles south of Tiskilwa, Bureau County, Illinois, a member of the Illinois Mennonite Conference, was organized in 1836 as an Amish Mennonite congregation, the settlers having come mostly from Bavaria, Germany, plus a few from Butler County, Ohio. The Bavarians had first settled in 1835 in the Hennepin and Granville neighborhood in Putnam County. After meeting in homes for 35 years the congregation built its first meetinghouse in 1873. This was destroyed by lightning in 1896, but was immediately rebuilt, and later enlarged several times.
Three subsidiary groups have been formed from Willow Springs: Ohio Station in the north central part of the county 1840-1915, which never developed into a congregation; Sheffield in the western part of the county 1943-1950; and the Tiskilwa Mennonite Church (General Conference Mennonite), which was formed in 1911 when a group withdrew to join the Central Illinois Mennonite Conference.
The first minister in the Hennepin community was Jacob Burkey of Hesse, Germany, who never lived in the Tiskilwa neighborhood. The Willow Springs congregation suffered for many years from inadequate and even absentee ministerial leadership and was not established on a sound basis until 1868, when Joseph Burkey, a minister at Tremont, Illinois, moved in and was ordained bishop a year later. His successor was C. A. Hartzler, a minister from Garden City, Missouri, who came in 1913 and was ordained bishop a year later. C. W. Long was pastor in 1957, with a membership of 142.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | March 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Willow Springs Mennonite Church (Tiskilwa, Illinois, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2024. Web. 30 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Willow_Springs_Mennonite_Church_(Tiskilwa,_Illinois,_USA)&oldid=178386.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (March 2024). Willow Springs Mennonite Church (Tiskilwa, Illinois, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 30 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Willow_Springs_Mennonite_Church_(Tiskilwa,_Illinois,_USA)&oldid=178386.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.