The village of Quincy was incorporated in 1834. At that time there was a population of six or seven hundred persons, scattered between Vermont and Delaware, Third and Eighth streets. The village's few streets were rough trails and lanes.
In 1835, a notice appeared in The Illinois Bounty Land Register, Quincy's first newspaper. This notice was advertising a meeting to be held to discuss the organization of an Episcopal church in Quincy.
On Easter Day, March 26, 1837, the Rt. Rev. Philander Chase, Bishop of the Diocese of Illinois, arrived in Quincy to officiate at the first services here. Following these services, a meeting, attended by twenty people, was held for the purpose of forming a parochial association. The Articles of Association were drawn up, and the new church was named after St. John.
Church members purchased a lot on North Sixth St., between Hampshire and Vermont and a 24 by 35-foot frame building was constructed. With 12 Communicants, St. John's was now an established fact.
Steady growth saw St. John's reach 130 Communicants by 1856. St. John's served the people of the Quincy area as a parish until October 11, 1877, when the Diocese of Quincy was created by the Episcopal Church and St. John's was named the Cathedral.
Between the years of 1962 and 1987, St. John's was the site for many ministries within the parish, in the Quincy Community, the Diocese of Quincy, and the Episcopal Church.
Over the years there have been many changes in the life of this parish. Changes in stone and mortar, the material foundation of the church; legal changes in management, charters, and statutes; personnel changes; differences in the power of Bishops, Deans, Rectors, Priests-in-charge, Chapters, Vestries; changes in the form of service and liturgy. But none of these changes can compare to the decision to cede from the Episcopal Church of United States of America in 1994.
A majority of the parish, desiring to remain Orthodox in its faith, order, and practice decided that they could no longer remain in the structure of the Episcopal Church. In 1994, St. John's affiliated with the Anglican Church in America (ACA), an orthodox Anglican jurisdiction of the Traditional Anglican Communion and became known as St. John's Anglican Church. In a settlement with the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, St. John's Anglican Church agreed to vacate the building originally completed in 1853.
In early 1996 the parish began worshipping at St. Mary's Chapel on what is now the 14th Street campus of Blessing Hospital. Soon, construction plans were developed and property purchased for the construction of a new church facility.
Completed in 1998, this new church facility, located on Payson Road just east of Thirty-Sixth Street, was formally consecrated by the Most Rev. Louis W. Falk, Primate of the Anglican Church in America and Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley (DMV) on September 20, 1998.
In March 2003, the Rev. Fr. Stephen D. Strawn became the Rector of St. John's and the parish began to implement new ministries and saw its activity as a parish family increase. In June 2007, Fr. Strawn was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley and was consecrated on October 13, 2007.
On December 31, 2007, Abp. Falk retired as Bishop Ordinary, having already retired as Primate of the ACA and TAC, and Bishop Strawn became the 2nd Bishop Ordinary of the DMV on January 1st, 2008. At the 28th Synod of the DMV, Bishop Strawn names St. John's as his Cathedral and with the consent of the Synod, St. John's became the Mother Church of the DMV.
Through it all, St. John's Anglican Church has managed to stand firm for the faith of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Previous Rectors
John Sellwood 1837-1838
James Young 1838-1840
George Giddinge 1841-1856
William Rudder 1857-1858
Alexander Capron 1858-1859
John Eger 1861-1863
Henry Strong 1863-1864
Sidney Corbett 1865-1875
William Fiske 1875-1877
Edward Larrabee 1877-1879
Robert Ritchie 1879-1881
John Davidson 1881-1883
Ingram Irvine 1883-1885
Henry Dyer 1886-1886
Michael Hicks 1886-1887
C.C. Lemon 1888-1891
Edward Rudd 1891-1892
Waltar Moore 1892-1906
Wyllys Rede 1906-1909
William Gustin 1909-1910
Chapman Lewis 1910-1914
William Cone 1914-1920
George Long 1920-1925
George Davis 1925-1926
William James 1926-1931
J.A. Schaad 1931-1936
Carl Heiligstedt 1936-1946
Edward Bubb 1947-1954
Frederick Wolf 1954-1957
Charles Upson 1958-1981
Garrett Clanton 1982-1994
John McCarthy 1994-1995
Lee Owens 1995-1996
Oscar Natwick 1996-2002
Stephen Strawn 2002-2021