St. John Lutheran Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just along for the ride. Out in Lee County, in the Lincoln community, a Lutheran congregation came together in April of 1886. Now, they didn't have a resident pastor right off the bat.

In those early days, ministers from neighboring communities came out to lend a hand, helping that fledgling congregation find its footing. It took until 1887 before the Reverend Th. Wolfram arrived to take up the role of St.

John's first resident pastor. And those early ministers, they weren't just tending to souls on Sunday. They were also filling the role of teachers at the school right there on the church grounds.

A congregation, a school, a community, all rooted in the same patch of Lee County earth. Then came 1892, and during the pastorate of the Reverend Louis Ernst, the congregation raised up a new sanctuary. That building stood and served, year after year, decade after decade.

It saw the seasons change over Lee County more times than most folks care to count. But 1957 had other ideas. A tornado came through, and that 1892 sanctuary took damage.

The kind of damage that doesn't just fix itself. Still, St. John Lutheran Church endured.

It stands today as what the marker calls an important part of the heritage of Lee County. A congregation organized with borrowed pastors, a school, a sanctuary built in 1892, a tornado in 1957, and still standing. Some stories don't need embellishment.

They just need to be told.

What the marker says

With the assistance of pastors from neighboring communities, a Lutheran congregation was organized to serve the Lincoln community in April 1886. The Rev. Th. Wolfram arrived in 1887 to serve as St. John's first resident pastor. Ministers in the early years also filled the role of teachers at the school located on the church grounds. An 1892 sanctuary constructed during the pastorate of the Rev. Louis Ernst served the congregation until it was damaged in a 1957 tornado. St. John Lutheran Church stands as an important part of the heritage of Lee County. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986