Mayfield Church is proud of its deep roots

in rural DeKalb County and long tradition

of social justice.

Mayfield Church began as a Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1860.  In 1906, it became a Congregational Church and then affiliated with the newly formed United Church of Christ in 1961.  

The first pastor of Mayfield Church, William Nickerson, was a leader and tireless advocate for abolition.  Mayfield Church became a station on the Underground Railroad, protecting and assisting refugee slaves on their way to freedom via Lake Michigan.  To learn more about anti-slavery activism in Mayfield Township and Sycamore, Illinois, see the award-winning documentary film by James Macon, "Wade in the Water: A History of the Underground Railroad in DeKalb County, Illinois."  Click here for streaming video of this film.