St. James Episcopal Church

St. James Episcopal Church is a Michigan historical marker in Grosse Ile, Wayne County, dedicated 2025.

Wayne County · dedicated 2025 · 25150 East River Road, Grosse Ile

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Elizabeth (Lisette) Denison Forth, a self-liberated former slave, willed her life savings to build this 1867 Gothic chapel, which was the main church for eighty years. Her employer, William S. Biddle, and his brother James matched her gift. English-trained architect Gordon W. Lloyd of Detroit, who summered on Grosse Ile, designed the chapel. The first rector was the Reverend Moses H. Hunter. James Biddle built an altar cross, a minister’s kneeling bench, and a reading stand for the first services, held in 1868.

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Marker data: Michigan History Center
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St. James Episcopal Church

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