Each October, Galesburg’s history stirs to life as familiar names step out from the pages of the past. The annual Ghosts of Galesburg event invites audiences to meet the people who built, believed in, and became the heart of this community.
This year, the “ghosts” gathered inside the historic Central Congregational Church, where light streams through stained glass windows that have watched over generations. The church’s cornerstone dates back to 1897, and its windows—crafted by the Luminous Prism Company and George E. Androvette, both of Chicago—are among its most treasured features.
The Luminous Prism Company specialized in creating luminous prisms that caught sunlight and scattered it gently across interior spaces, long before electric lighting was widespread. Androvette, a skilled designer and glass artist, combined artistry with symbolism, shaping windows that continue to bathe the sanctuary in color and meaning.
This year’s event wove together the stories of the people remembered within those windows—their voices rising once more beneath the glow of the glass that bears their names.
Among those who returned to tell their tales were:
Jerusha Brewster Farnham, who journeyed west from New York to Galesburg in 1837 with the Gale Colony, keeping a vivid journal of pioneer life and faith on the prairie.
Robert Avery, a Civil War veteran and inventor whose innovations in farming machinery—born out of hardship and imagination—helped put Galesburg on the map for industry and innovation.
Flora Avery, whose life of devotion and music helped found and sustain Congregational churches in both Rio and Galesburg.
Matthew Chambers Willard, businessman and Knox College trustee, who carried forward his family’s legacy of leadership and education.
Emma Everest Moore, a writer, missionary advocate, and Knox College graduate whose brief but passionate life reflected the deep faith and scholarship of her family.
Nettie Parry, a young Knox Seminary student whose tragic death moved her father to immortalize her in one of the church’s windows—ensuring her spirit would remain forever within the sanctuary she loved.
Together, their stories illuminated more than the church’s glass—they revealed the threads that connect generations of Galesburg residents: courage, conviction, and community.
In the glow of those rare and radiant windows, the audience was reminded that history is not distant. It lives here—reflected in light, revived in memory, and retold each year by the Ghosts of Galesburg.
At the Galesburg Public Library Foundation, we believe stories like these keep the spirit of our community alive—past, present, and future. Through our Bookmarked: Stories from the Stacks series, we celebrate the people who bring Galesburg’s history to life in their own ways. Because every story—like every window—has a light worth sharing.
