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On January 3, 1904, the first Sunday after the
Iroquois Theater fire, many Chicago church goers
heard about the fire from the pulpit. The
tie-ins: greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians
and Satan-led entertainment seekers. At
least twenty-nine pastors addressed the fire
that Sunday.
One such sermon was delivered by Rev. William Alfred Bartlett, DD,
(1858–1931), pastor at the Second Congregational
Church (originally named Ridgeland Congregational*
and in 1918 given the name it has today, Pilgrim Congregational
Church).
The church was founded in 1874 at 460 Lake Street
when there were fewer than 1,000 residents in
Chicago's Oak Park area. Construction was completed in 1900, three years
before the Iroquois Theater fire. Bartlett
was its first pastor, serving from 1889 to 1917.
William Bartlett was a Chicago native,
born in the years when his father, Samuel
Colcord Bartlett, served as pastor of the New
England Church in Chicago, then on the teaching
staff at Chicago Theological Seminary.
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In 1877 the family moved east where Samuel
became the eighth president of Dartmouth and
William attended the university. He
received his BA in 1882 and in 1885 received his
Divinity degree from Hartford Theological
Seminary.
After graduation, Bartlett returned to Chicago
for a decade, serving as pastor of three Chicago
churches, including the Ridgeland
Congregational/Second Congregational. He
eventually left Chicago for Maine. Before
leaving Chicago, Bartlett became active in the
Temperance movement and led a group that sued
Chicago officials. Their legal efforts
failed but are credited with contributing to the
pressure that led to Illinois ratifying the 18th
Constitutional Amendment in 1919.
For a lengthy biography see pages 108-111
of William A. Bartlett in
Maine: A History.
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Discrepancies and addendum
* Bartlett's church was designed by Patton
& Fisher as a 72 x 97 structure with a 52 x 52
auditorium, a lecture room, gallery and seating
capacity for 530 people. It was built of black
artisan lime stone with pressed brick trimmings.
The bell turret was wood, finished in Georgia
pine. Building cost estimate at start of
project: $20,000.
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