Illinois’ frontier seminary

Reverend Philander Chase

Looking Back – Illinois’ frontier seminary 

Illinois became a state in 1818, but was still very much a frontier state in the 1830s. 

Illinois’ rough and tumble frontier status did not deter Rev. Philander Chase from planning to open a theological seminary on the prairie. As the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Illinois, Chase was in a position to turn his dream into a reality.