Much of the legacy of architect George P. Stauduhar, who grew up in the Mahomet area and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1890, lies in the numerous churches and other religious buildings he designed throughout the Midwest.
But because of a recent realignment announced by the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, there may be a little less of Stauduhar’s legacy in downstate Illinois.
At least seven Stauduhar-designed churches, including St. Lawrence in Penfield, will be closed under the Peoria Diocese’s “Growing Disciples” plan. Many other Stauduhar designs, however, including St. Patrick’s in Urbana, St. Malachy’s in Rantoul, St. Boniface outside of Seymour, St. Joseph’s in Ivesdale and Sacred Heart in Farmer City, will remain partly if not fully open.
Primarily because of the shortage of priests in the United States and in the Peoria Diocese, the current 156 individual parishes in the central Illinois area from the Quad Cities to Danville will be reduced to 75, with many operating out of more than one church building.
Many churches, including the seven Stauduhar designs mostly in small towns like Arlington, Bradford, Campus, Ransom, Tiskilwa and Penfield, eventually will be closed in a process that could take up to three years and is called “deconsecration.”
What happens to all the closed churches has not been decided, and will be up to the individual parish and the bishop of Peoria. In other dioceses where churches have been deconsecrated, buildings have been demolished or put to other uses.
Nearly all of Stauduhar’s churches in downstate Illinois — unofficially, there are 34 in the Peoria Diocese, plus more in the Springfield and Joliet dioceses — are well over 100 years old. Sacred Heart in Farmer City, for example, opened in 1900. St. Patrick’s in Urbana was built in 1902.
They all have a similar design — a long, narrow structure of brick with a single spire — that made quick construction fairly easy. According to the contract for construction of St. Lawrence — an enormous trove of Stauduhar’s personal and business documents are at the UI Archives — the contract was signed on March 18, 1905, and said that the church would be completed on Oct. 1, 1905. It was to cost $12,511 (about $400,000 in today’s dollars).
In addition to designing churches, the business side of Stauduhar’s practice meant dealing with unhappy customers, including priests. One was the Rev. W.F. Selk of St. Boniface, who sent many letters and telegrams to Stauduhar complaining about a defective roof.
“I insist that you come here at once,” Selk opened one letter to Stauduhar. “The building leaks shamefully. I want you to find out why. The decorations have been spoiled. I’m in a hurry but it seems nobody else is. Come here at once.”
The architect had another unhappy exchange with the tough-bargaining pastor at St. Malachy’s in Rantoul, the Rev. P.H. Durkin. The priest wanted a design for a small mission church of St. Malachy’s to be built in Paxton.
“I regret to state that it will be impossible for me to build the church in Paxton for which we have received bids, as the price will be prohibitive for the place,” Durkin wrote. “The debt I would be obligated to carry would be in the neighborhood of $5,000 (about $160,000 today) and the bishop would refuse to sign the notes for that amount in so small a parish.”
He concluded his letter, “In regard to compensation for your labor, I would think that, considering the circ*mstances of the plans figuring up so high as to be prohibitive to us, and considering the many delays for which we were not responsible and compelled us to pass most of the summer without making progress, you ought to be satisfied with the amount which has already been sent to you.”
But Stauduhar was not satisfied. He responded with a bill for $309.20 (about $10,000 today) and said that if it wasn’t paid within 10 days, he would contact the bishop.
Still, the architect didn’t always get his way. In 1920, he was invited to submit a design for a new Holy Cross Church in Champaign.
“I regret to announce,” wrote the Rev. W.E. Frawley, “that I do not find your suggestions preferable and have therefore determined to employ another architect for the parish church here.”
It was a rare defeat for Stauduhar, whose list of successful projects included Catholic (and other) churches in Illinois (including St. John the Baptist in Arcola and St. Patrick’s and St. James in Decatur), Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and North Dakota, plus private residences, hospitals, college buildings, banks, bakeries, retail stores and car showrooms. He even, according to his obituary, designed large riverboats.
Stauduhar, who was born in Decatur in 1864, grew up in Mahomet and married in 1891 in Rock Island, died Sept. 23, 1928, in Valley City, N.D., in a hospital that he had designed. One of his four sons, Charles, was killed while en route to North Dakota, struck by a passing automobile while he changed a tire.
