Philadelphia Evangelical Lutheran Chuch

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Philadelphia Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fayette County. Now settle in, because this is a story that starts with a man on the move and ends with something that's still standing. The Reverend C.

C. Rudi had just moved to the Swiss Alp area when, on March 24, 1867, he led the founding of a congregation that would become the second oldest in the Texas-Louisiana Synod of the United Lutheran Church in America. Second oldest.

Think about that for a moment. Out of everything that took root in this part of Texas, this congregation planted itself early and held on. Then came the land.

John and Christina Knippa put their names to a deed on March 29, 1869, donating a ten-acre church site, and that generosity didn't stop there. The Knippas and a man named J. F.

Melcher donated cedar, and with that wood the congregation raised an original log church, right there in 1869. But a church community needs more than a building. In February of 1877, the cemetery was established, giving the congregation a place to keep its memory.

And by November of that same year, an adjoining tract of forty-four and a half acres was added to the grounds. The place was growin'. Then, in 1889 and into 1890, they erected the present church building, the one that still stands today.

A man moves to a new area, a family signs a deed, neighbors donate cedar logs, and what they build together outlasts just about everything around it. That's the kind of story this marker was made to tell.

What the marker says

Second oldest congregation in the Texas-Louisiana Synod, United Lutheran Church in America. The founding occurred on March 24, 1867, under leadership of the Rev. C. C. Rudi, who had just moved to the Swiss Alp area. A ten-acre church site was donated by John and Christina Knippa by deed of March 29, 1869. Cedar was donated by J. F. Melcher and the Knippas, and original log church was built in 1869. In Feb. 1877 the cemetery was established and in Nov. 1877 an adjoining tract of 44.5 acres was added. The present church building was erected in 1889-90.