Our Third and Present Building
For six years the leaders of the church discussed that the church was
crowded and they needed to build a new and larger church. In order to
start the building more ground was needed, the congregation
purchased the house next door, east side, belonging to Dr. Jacob Baer.
As the land in the rear of the old church would also have to be used,
fifty five bodies buried in the old cemetery were also disinterred.
Eager to recover as much of the money to pay for the improvements as
was possible, the congregation disposed of the materials from the Dr.
Baer house for $750. On Sunday February 27, 1859 services were
held in the old church structure for the last time. Work on its
demolition began on Tuesday, March 1st, and on Wednesday the bells
were lowered from the steeple, being pulled down on Friday by groups
of workmen hauling on ropes attached to the spire. It came down
point first and its iron rod penetrated the earth some three feet. A large
crowd from the town and surrounding area was on hand to witness the
steeple’s overthrow. By the middle of March most of the rubbish was
removed from the site, and when the cornerstone was opened, contrary
to general expectation, all it contained was a German Bible, Catechism
and a bottle of 1816 wine. During the construction of the church, it is
most likely that worship was held in the Lecture room, built by our
Lutheran ancestors in 1848 for the purpose of education, located on
the east side of the parsonage on West Main Street.
Saturday, April 16, 1859, before a large
crowd of people in the Reformed
Church, following the service, the
congregation journeyed to the new
foundation, where the cornerstone was
laid. In the cornerstone were deposited
copies of the Bible, the Catechism, the
Lutheran Hymn Book, the county
Newspaper, the “Definite Platform,”
the Constitution of the Church, a copy
of the minutes of the organization of
the Melancthon Synod, also names of
building committee, Church Council,
officiating clergyman and the pastor,
the Rev. C. M. Klink. The bottle of
wine removed from the old corner
stone and several old coins were also enclosed in the stone, weighing
1000 pounds.
(The Nave – 1859)
(The Nave – 1859)
Construction began in April 1859 and by June, hope was already
fading that the October target date set for the structure’s completion
could be met. By February 1860, painting of the interior was well
under way and worship services on February 5, 1860, had to be held in
the old Lecture Room Building because of the painting at the church.
The first part of April 1860, just about six months after the time it was
originally hoped that the building would be complete, plans were
announced for its dedication, on Sunday April 22nd. Finishing touches
were being put to the grounds surrounding the building, in the front
yard, sod was laid and beautified and an iron fence had sharp, iron
spikes along its top, which was some time later to prove to have been a
deadly ornamentation. People of the community made preparations to
entertain visitors, many of whom were expected to attend the
dedication ceremonies.
On Sunday April 22nd, 1860, with threatening weather prevailing, a
huge crowd gathered in town, estimate at around 2000 persons, to
participate in the services. The sanctuary, where seating arrangements
had been provided for around 1300 persons, was filled to capacity,
while many who could not find admittance attended services in other
churches of the town.