The old First Baptist Church

Illinois · USA · Church

A German caretaker is said to have been locked in the basement and the building set alight during the First World War. The church was rebuilt on that.

The account from Collinsville, Illinois holds that a German caretaker was locked into the basement of the church and the building set on fire, during the First World War when feeling against German Americans was at its worst.

Collinsville has a reason to be told this story carefully. In 1918 a German born man named Robert Prager was lynched by a mob in this town, one of the most notorious incidents of anti German violence in the United States, and the men tried for it were acquitted. That is documented history.

The church fire is not documented, and it should be read as legend growing in ground that had real blood in it.

The church was rebuilt on the original basement.

It is now used as a haunted house through October, which the original account calls ironic and which is putting it mildly.

FAQ

Hvor ligger The old First Baptist Church?

The old First Baptist Church ligger i Illinois, USA.