St. John's Evangelical and Reformed Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. Way out in Washington County, there's a congregation with roots going back to 1894, and the story of how it got started is the kind of thing that deserves a proper telling around a good fire. It begins not in a grand hall, not under a vaulted ceiling, but in somebody's house.

The home of a local merchant named Herman Knittel. That's where The Rev. William Vollbrecht gathered 24 charter members and organized what would become St.

John's Evangelical and Reformed Church. Twenty-four people, one merchant's home, and a vision. That very same year, the congregation chose The Rev.

Herman Specht as their pastor, and they didn't waste any time. A church building was erected nearby, on land they'd acquired from August and Amalia Pfefferkorn. Now that's a congregation that came to work.

In the early 1900s, they established a church cemetery, putting down roots in the most permanent way a community knows how. Then, in 1951, they raised something new at this very site: a brick sanctuary. Not a patch job, not a renovation.

A whole new house of worship, built from the ground up. And if you thought the story was settled by then, well, 1957 brought one more chapter. The congregation changed its name to St.

John's United Church of Christ. A new name, but the same people reaching outward, because to this day they support local, national, and foreign outreach programs. From Herman Knittel's front room to a brick sanctuary on this ground, that's a long road built by 24 charter members and every soul who came after them.

What the marker says

This congregation was organized by The Rev. William Vollbrecht and 24 charter members at the home of local merchant Herman Knittel in 1894. That year The Rev. Herman Specht was chosen as pastor and a church building was erected nearby on land acquired from August and Amalia Pfefferkorn. The church cemetery was established in the early 1900s. A new brick sanctuary was built at this site in 1951. The congregation changed its name to St. John's United Church of Christ in 1957. The congregation supports various local, national, and foreign outreach programs.