Site Highlight – St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church

During Keys to Kenosha, make time to visit St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, the oldest Episcopal church building in Kenosha County and a proud member of the National Register of Historic Places. Guided tours will be offered as visitors arrive, giving guests a chance to explore one of the community’s most enduring historic sites.

History

The St. Matthew’s congregation was organized in 1840, becoming the fourth Episcopal church in the old Northwest Territory—a remarkable distinction that places it among the earliest Episcopal communities in the region. Its first church building, completed in 1842, stood where the Kenosha County Courthouse is located today.

As the congregation grew, so did the need for a more substantial structure. The current church was completed in 1879, and it remains the oldest Episcopal church building in Kenosha County.

Architecture

Architect A.H. Ellwood of Aurora, Illinois—known for designing churches, schools, and public buildings—was selected to create the new structure. His design embraced a bold and expressive Gothic Revival style, constructed with limestone sourced from Joliet, Illinois and Racine, Wisconsin.

St. Matthew’s features Gothic Revival elements that are unusually prominent for the period, including:

• Rusticated stonework laid in a random ashlar pattern with dressed stone trim
• A steeply pitched gable roof over the nave
• Shed roofs over the side aisles
• A west façade with wall buttresses rising above the roofline, topped with stone finials
• Flying buttresses at each corner
• A clock, louvered belfry, and battlemented parapet
• A polygonal apse on the north façade
• A sacristy wing on the west and a chapel wing on the east

In 1987, the large Gothic windows on the south façade were replaced with contemporary stained‑glass windows, adding a modern artistic layer to the historic structure.

Fun Facts

• In 1843, St. Matthew’s installed its first bell—350 pounds, the first bell in Southport and the third in the Northwest Territory. Town residents celebrated by ringing it for 24 hours.
• In 1894, three additional bells (550, 250, and 150 pounds) from the Menelly Foundry were added, along with a Seth Thomas Tower Clock.
• In 1994, fourteen more bells cast in Holland were added, creating a full choir of bells.
• St. Matthew’s installed the first organ in the Wisconsin Territory in 1844.
• In 1925, the parish added a prestigious Skinner Organ, installed under the supervision of E.M. Skinner—considered the finest organ builder of his era. Skinner organs also appear at Yale, Princeton, and major churches across the country.
• The All Saints’ Walk memorial brickway offers a peaceful space for commemorating loved ones with personalized bricks set among nature.

Experience St. Matthew’s During Keys to Kenosha