Global True Lithuania Encyclopedia of Lithuanian heritage worldwide

Kewanee, Illinois

Kewanee has an old Lithuanian wooden St. Anthony church of 1913, built by and for the local Lithuanian factory workers.

Kewanee St. Anthony Lithuanian crhuch

The parish has been closed in 1982. Nothing Lithuanian remains there, though, with even the cornerstone plastered off by the later Black-majority church that used to own the building (the new words "Church of God in Christ 1982 1992" are chiseled on the plaster). That church folded as well and the building is left as it was during its last mass, with all the benches and even musical equipment still inside. In the interior, though, nothing reminds that it was a Lithuanian church either.

Kewanee St. Anthony Lithuanian crhuch cornerstone, plastered over and chiselled anew by the new owners, the African American church

Since some 2010 the church has been for sale, although high asking price did not attract potential buyers.

Abandoned interior of the Kewanee St. Anthony Lithuanian crhuch

So many Lithuanians lived in Kewanee that in the year 1929 alone 150 Lithuanian kids were confirmed in the church.

The map

All the Lithuanian locations, described in this article, are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):

Interactive map of Illinois Lithuanian sites