The following is the entry on "Episcopal congregation" found in: Ulrich Dankers & Jane Meredith, eds., "Early Chicago: A Compendium of the Early History of Chicago to the Year 1835, when the Indians left," Chicago: Early Chicago, Inc., 2000.

"The Episcopal church community was first organized in 1834 through the efforts of Dr. Maxwell, Dr. Egan, Giles Spring, Gurdon Hubbard, Margaret Helm, and John H. Kinzie and his wife Juliette; in October 1834, Rev. Palmer Dyer arrived and preached the first sermon on the 12th at the Presbyterian church, by the invitation of Rev. J. Porter. Reverend Dyer left within the week and on the following Sunday (Oct. 19), Rev. Isaac W. Hallam conducted the service and took charge of the parish; Mr. Kinzie soon furnished a building on the SE corner of State (then Wolcott) and Kinzie streets as a place of worship [in 1840, this building became known as ‘Tippecanoe Hall']. The Female Sewing Society of St. James Parish held its first annual fair on June 18, 1835, and on the 20th the ladies included ‘A Card' in the Chicago American acknowledging gratitude to ‘Messrs. Bates & Montgomery for use of their auction room and their services.' The St. James Church, a handsome edifice of brick, was constructed in 1836 on two lots at the corner of Cass [Wabash] and Illinois streets and opened on Easter Sunday, 1837; the building surpassed in comfort and appearance the frame structures that other denominations (Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist) had erected earlier, and was the only church in town with a tower and organ. The community drew its membership chiefly from the well-to-do residential section of the N division; because John H. Kinzie was a member and a generous contributor, it was often referred to as the ‘Kinzie Church.'"

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The only known burial at this location was that of Mr. Jean Lalime who was killed by John H. Kinzie in 1812. Lalime's body was transferred to this churchyard from its original burial site on his property (near Rush/Hubbard) which had been tended to by Kinzie. After the church was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Lalime's remains were forgotten until being rediscovered in 1891 during construction on the site. Today, Lalime's remains are in the custody of the Chicago History Museum and there are no other known burials at this location.