2026-05-16T18:00:40-04:00 Zend_Feed_Writer http://shenandoahstories.org/ Shenandoah Stories http://shenandoahstories.org 2019-04-16T11:15:04-04:00 2019-04-16T11:15:04-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/320 The Shenandoah Stories Team St. James Lutheran Church in Zepp dates to around 1822 when W.G. Keil, a ministerial student, began conducting services in local homes. By September of 1822 he had established a church with 30 confirmed members. The first church building was constructed soon after this. It was a log structure located directly across from the current St. James and was originally called either Mt. Pleasant Church or the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cedar Creek. Services were held here from late spring till early winter since members had to ford Cedar Creek to attend services. In 1841 the congregation moved its meeting place to the nearby Lochmiller meeting house. Work on the current St. James Church began in 1884 and the building was dedicated in 1885. The Rev. William Jacob Smith became the first regular minister assigned to the church that year. He served the Gravel Springs Parish which consisted of St. James, Gravel Springs, and St. Johns Lutheran Church until his death in 1911. Regular weekly attendance averaged between 20 and 40 members during this period. In 1989 declining membership led St. James to be designated a chapel meaning regular worship services would no longer be held at the site and a pastor would not be assigned to the church. At the time an average of 12-16 members regularly attended service and members of the Lineweaver family were the primary church supporters. Despite this re-designation a regular homecoming, started in 1950, is still held at the church every July. For more (including 2 images), view the original article. 2016-06-03T11:58:40-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/91 Shenandoah County Library Lutheran Ministers began preaching in St. Luke in 1878 when locals formed a congregation separate from the Woodstock Lutheran Church. Their first minister, P. Miller, had a congregation of 42 who met in the Union Church and the local school. One year after they were organized, the St. Luke Lutherans laid the cornerstone of a new church. It was dedicated in November 1879. Originally the building was made of stone with a mortar made of sand, gravel, water and lime. This was a popular building material in the area. The church was drastically altered by two 20th century renovation projects. In 1925 the interior was remodeled and an altar, pulpit, and lectern were added. Previously many Lutherans felt these items were too ornate to be used in a church service, but later attitudes welcomed them. In 1961 the exterior of the church was renovated and a brick veneer and narthex was added. This project was designed to replace the unstable stone/mortar mixture that had left the church building in danger. For more (including 2 images), view the original article. 2016-06-02T16:29:25-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/85 Shenandoah County Library An old history of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church reports that the Lutheran Church arrived in that area of Shenandoah County around 1806. Their efforts centered on the construction of a school near Saumsville, named Borden’s, which could be used as a house of worship and educational facility. This project was successful, and travelling Lutheran minister J.V. Schmucker preached to a congregation at Borden’s until 1813. At that time, the Lutheran Congregation decided to build a larger school near Mt. Olive to accommodate a growing student and church population. Named the Hottel-Keller School, it featured classroom space and an apartment for the teacher. Schmucker continued to lead worship there and was joined by a German Reformed Congregation. The first church building for the congregations was constructed in 1824 and named Friedens Church. It housed the Lutheran and German Reformed worshipers. Friedens was occupied until 1877 when it was sold because of its deteriorating condition. The decision of the Lutherans and Reformed congregations from Toms Brook, Saumsville, Mt. Olive, and surrounding territory to maintain this joint venture for over 50 years is a testimony to their cooperative spirit. Construction on the new Lutheran Church in the area had actually begun in 1873, four years before Friedan’s was sold. It was completed by the members of the church on a high hill commonly called Sand Ridge. Dedication services were held in August 1875 under the direction of Rev. John N. Stirewalt. The congregation belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod, which was led by the Henkel family in New Market and was known for its staunch conservatism and confessional character. As part of this organization, St. Matthews shared a minister with St. Stephens, Mt. Calvary, and St. David’s Lutheran Church. In 1922 this arrangement ended, and St. Matthews joined the Virginia Synod with St. Peter’s in Toms Brook with whom it shared a pastor. During the midst of the Great Depression, the congregation launched a building program to house new Sunday School Rooms. Construction was done primarily by church members, who also donated most of the supplies. In 1982, this addition was enlarged and a parish hall dedicated. Six years later the church helped form a new Parish with St. Stephens Lutheran Church when St. Peters called an individual minister. In 2012, St. Peters rejoined the newly formed North Mountain Parish. Throughout its history, social and community events have been held at St. Matthews. A women’s, men’s, and youth group still meet regularly. These groups, the church at large, and community members regularly held dinners, plays, and educational events for the local schools here. This helps solidify the church as a focal point of the community. For more, view the original article. 2016-05-24T17:19:02-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/72 Shenandoah County Library In 1760, residents of this area who wanted to worship walked, or rode on horseback, to a small building at Rude’s Hill south of Mt. Jackson. This Union Church, called Rude’s Hill Church, accommodated congregations of various denominations. Among these were the Lutherans who continued to practice the religion they had acquired in Germany before immigrating here. At the time the church was founded there were no regular Lutheran ministers in the area. Instead circuit riding preachers visited each congregation on an irregular basis to conduct services. In 1772 the first full time Lutheran minister came to Shenandoah County. Peter Muhlenberg, a Lutheran who was also ordained an Anglican priest in accordance with English law, served all the Lutheran and Anglican congregants in Shenandoah County, including the one at Rude’s Hill. He helped recruit many county residents, including ones from this area, to serve in the Continental Army. Around 1783 enough people had moved to this area that a new church was needed. This building was built away from Rude’s Hill, near the site of the present St. Mary’s Pine Church. Sometime before this, the name had been changed to Pine Church. Local legend indicates the name was derived from the presence of a large grove of pine trees in the area. This new Pine Church continued to host various congregations. Primarily it served the Reformed and Lutheran denominations since these were the two major branches associated with the German populace. Pine Church also operated a graveyard that is still in existence. The earliest known grave at this site dates to 1786. Toward the end of the 19th century the groups that had worshiped at Pine Church decided to form independent houses of worship. In 1873 the Lutheran’s completed their own church and named it St. Mary’s Pine. This simple building reflects the popular, more primitive style church used at the time and contains dual entrances for men and women who remained segregated during services. This church is the basis of the current St. Mary’s building. It has undergone several major renovations, including the addition of a belfry, narthex, and social hall which altered the character of the structure. For more (including 2 images), view the original article. 2016-05-24T14:57:53-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/71 Shenandoah County Library In the late 1700s, Shenandoah County residents who were members of the Lutheran and Reformed denominations banded together to form Frieden’s Union Church west of Toms Brook. This served the needs of Toms Brook’s residents until the mid-1800s when they built a separate Union Church in town. This building, called Brook Union Church was located near what is now the Methodist Church. It was dedicated on May 28 1842 and was used by all the town’s churches for 27 years. The only disruption to worship was caused by soldiers who used the building as a hospital during the Civil War. By 1869 the Lutherans in Toms Brook were able to afford their own church building. So they severed ties with the other local congregations and built their own church on the same site of today’s Lutheran Church. It was named St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 1905 a new brick building was dedicated and is still in use. During the First and Second World Wars St. Peters was one of the many county churches that played a role in community’s war effort. Churches became places were scrap was collected, blood was donated, and defense meetings were held. They also were places that residents prayed for the safety of those off fighting and remembered those who would never return. Memorial services would have been some of the most emotional events, as neighbors and families gathered to honor those who had been killed. When the war ended, county residents gathered again at church to offer thanksgiving for peace and the end of the bloodshed. When organized, St. Peter’s was associated with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Strasburg with whom they shared a minister. In 1922 this arrangement ended and a new agreement that allowed St. Peter’s and St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, located west of town, to share a minister. Previously these two congregations had belonged to separate synods that split over the progressive versus liberal ideology. On January 1, 1988 the two once again became independent which each felt they could support their own minister. However, this was not to last an in the spring of 2012 these two churches, and St. Stephens Lutheran Church on Back Road, voted to become a join parish. This was a direct result of decreased membership and financial support at all three locations caused by demographic changes that saw community members leave rural areas for more established towns. For more (including 6 images), view the original article. 2016-05-20T13:24:34-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/65 Shenandoah County Library In 1965 the Lutheran Congregations of St. Davids and Mt. Zion Churches agreed to end the 75 year old dispute that had separated them. This effort was a result of several decades of improved relations that had led to joint Sunday Schools and Youth Programs. At a joint meeting, the two churches approved a merger. The churches agreed to name their new congregation Faith Lutheran. This congregation continued to use the old Mt. Zion building until 1974 when a new church was built. C.E. Thompsons out of Edinburg served as the general contractor while several church members provided labor and materials. In 1993 the church became home to the Faith Lutheran Preschool which is one of only a few such institutions to serve the people of Fort Valley. A new addition consisting of a preschool building, parish hall, and kitchen was added in 2000 to meet the needs of this organization and the church. This structure also serves as the Fort Valley Senior Center which serves the area’s growing population of retirees. For more, view the original article. 2016-05-19T14:11:30-04:00 2018-12-18T12:13:55-05:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/61 Shenandoah County Library The first Lutheran Church in Woodstock predated the arrival of the town’s founder Jacob Mueller. Local German residents had felt the need for a place to practice their Lutheran faith and had therefore constructed a modest wooden structure in the center of their community. Mueller would be forced to design his town around this building and the cemetery which surrounded it. This early church served both the town’s Lutheran and Anglican congregations. During that period, the only church authorized to practice their faith was the Anglican. So, despite the fact that almost all locals were Lutheran at the time, they officially had to operate as Anglicans. After the Revolution and Virginia’s Statute of Religious Freedom the Lutheran Congregation was able to operate freely. In 1772 John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg became the first minister to service the town of Woodstock on a regular basis. While technically a Lutheran, Muhlenberg had to become an ordained Anglican to legally perform marriages, baptisms, and communion in the town. Muhlenberg became a leader in the area’s growing pro-independence movement soon after arrived. He served on the county’s Committee of Safety and as a member of the House of Burgesses. On January 23, 1776 Muhlenberg delivered a fiery sermon designed to recruit community members into the Continental Army. His now famous words that there was “a time for war, and a time for peace, and this is the time for war” helped recruit over 300 men for the 8th Virginia regiment of which Muhlenberg was Colonel. Soon after this Muhlenberg left town with his unit, never to return. In 1803 the Lutherans decided to leave the wooden church and build a new structure on Church Street near the current church building. Though this structure was not dedicated until 1822, it was in use as a church and public meeting house long before. When it was completed, the services that marked its opening also celebrated the birth of the Virginia Lutheran Synod which did, and continues to, represent all Lutheran Churches in the state of Virginia. A new Lutheran Cemetery had also begun on the property. This graveyard would be the town’s major burial site for almost 75 years. During the Civil War, many soldiers from both sides who perished at one of the local war-time hospitals was buried here until they could be disinterred and taken to their homes. Though the cemetery is no long an active burial grounds, it does contain graves of many of the town’s citizens from the mid-19th to mid-20th century. This meeting house would serve the Lutheran community until 1884 when it was demolished after several years of poor maintenance had left it in disrepair. That same year a new church was completed just to the west of the old structure. The building was designed in the popular Gothic Style that was used in several other church buildings built in the area at the time. It also contains several intricately designed stained glass windows. These feature geometric designs instead of figures and images because of the Lutheran aversion to items they considered iconoclastic. By 1904 the church, and the town, had grown and a new addition was constructed to house a social hall and Sunday school rooms. This space, complete with a basement dug by the men of the church, allowed the congregation to be more involved with community. In 1954 this portion of the church was replaced with a new educational wing whose design, complete with porch, is unique to churches in the area and is designed to create a more welcoming atmosphere. Recently, Emanuel Lutheran Church celebrated its 250th anniversary and the 300th anniversary of the Muhlenberg family’s connection with Lutheranism in the United States. The congregation continues to be active in the community and is a regular partner in social and charity events. For more (including 3 images), view the original article. 2016-05-18T15:17:29-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/59 Shenandoah County Library Between 1734 John Caspar Stoever Jr., the first German Lutheran Minister in Virginia, made seven trips through the Shenandoah Valley to baptize individuals and organize churches. He, and his successor George Klug, must have been extremely successful for during the 1740s, 50s, and 60s Lutheran fervor in the area expanded dramatically. By 1772 the number of Lutherans was strong enough that they could call their first minister, John Peter Grabiel Muhlenberg. One of the churches he preached at was in Strasburg Virginia. There, in the late 1760s, a congregation had built a wooden structure on what is now Washington Street complete with a large organ to serve their needs. They chose not to provide heat for the building since they felt heat was a comfort not needed by the truly devout. During its early years, and at times when Muhlenberg was away, the church was led by Simon Harr. As a lay worker who was authorized by the church, Simon had conducted Lutheran services during the late 18th century and performed over 300 wedding ceremonies. He also operated the church’s school, which was the first in town. His service ended in 1796. Soon after this the church was divided by a schism. Like most Lutheran congregations in the area, they had a tradition of German language services. However, more progressive members hoped to introduce English services as its use expanded. Strasburg Lutherans compromised by having two ministers, one who preached English services and one who preached German services, during the bulk of the 19th century. This decision allowed the church to continue undivided. However, many other Lutheran congregations in the Valley were not so lucky. This congregation had also operated a church farm starting in 1747. At the time, it was popular for religious groups to own land and farm it to generate funds for their operations and to support their minister. The farm would operate until 1844 when it, being in a dilapidated state, was sold. The proceeds from this farm and the sale of the original church in 1844 allowed Strasburg Lutheran’s to build a new church. This was the first building named “St. Paul’s Lutheran.” Though the Lutheran Church opposed slavery on moral grounds, this building did have a separate gallery for African Americans and strictly segregated seating. It also had separate seating and entrances for men and women. During the Civil War St. Paul’s was gutted by Union and Confederate troops who used it as a hospital, arsenal, and stable. Other local churches suffered the same fate as both sides looked for large buildings that could meet their needs. After the war the damage was so extensive the Virginia Synod provided support to the congregation for two years. It was finally rededicated in 1867.That same year 100 members were on the roll. In 1902 the church was dramatically altered by the addition of a bell tower and renovation of the church in accordance with the principals of the new-Gothic style that are still used today. This project was financed by funds received from the Federal government for damages caused during the war. The end of the 20th century saw extensive changes. In 1953 a large education week was constructed. It was designed to meet the needs of the church as it expanded its social and spiritual outreach programs. Inside was a library, social room, lounge, kitchen, auditorium and recreation room. In the 1980s these programs again expanded when the church opened a pre-school and child care center. Today it is operated in a church owned property on King Street. For more (including 3 images), view the original article. 2016-05-17T16:20:26-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/57 Shenandoah County Library Mt. Zion Lutheran Church was born in the nearby Kipps School House on August 21, 1853. That day the traveling Lutheran minister Socrates Henkel, began preaching in the area. Six months later the members of the community organized a congregation and named it Mt. Zion. The first elders of the church were Albert Flemings and John Lowry. Original deacons were Moses Tusing, Michael Hess, George Lohr, and Peter Bushong. Many of these families are still carried on the church rolls. On June 1-3 1855 the first services were held at the school. Over the course of three days the congregation sponsored their first communion, confirmations, baptisms, and sermons. In 1870 the congregation began to raise the money needed to construct a church. George Lohr and his wife Magdalene deed an acre of land for the structure on May 18, 1871. Soon after that construction began. The work was completed, and paid for, on November 23, 1872. Over the next century and a half major changes occurred at Mt. Zion. • In 1918 a bell tower was added which drastically changed the appearance of the modest church building. • In 1961 the balcony was converted into Sunday School rooms • In 1973 the congregation demolished the old Kipps School House which they had been using as a social hall and built the John Kipps Educational building in its place. • In 2008 a new and expanded social hall was constructed. Who the church was aligned with also changed during this period. In 1932 Mt. Zion had joined with St. Martins in New Market and St. Marks in Forrestville for form the Quicksburg Parish. The small, rural congregations could not support a minister on their own so they sought to expand their services through cooperation. This arrangement lasted until November 1988 when the church’s membership had expanded and each could then afford their own minister. Today, Mt. Zion continues to operate as an independent congregation and supports not only its religious work, but also community service projects in the county and elsewhere. Their efforts include a homecoming, vacation bible school, charity auction, golf tournament that supports the homeless, and a quilt sale whose proceeds support world relief organizations. For more (including 6 images), view the original article. 2016-05-13T13:56:23-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/50 Shenandoah County Library The congregation that became Emmanuel Lutheran Church began in 1790, when Reverend Paul Henkel founded the Davidson Lutheran Church in New Market. In 1820 Samuel S. Schmucker, a Yale Graduate became the church’s new minister. Soon afterwards the congregation split. Like many other Lutheran Churches around the country members struggled to decide if they would follow more conservative, German speaking traditions or accept new, liberal, English services. Pastor Schmucker led the English leaning portion which remained at Davidson, which eventually became St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church. The German faction followed the Henkel family to form a separate congregation. This group had no church building for almost 25 years. Instead they often met at the New Market Academy, Solomon Henkel’s German school, and other locations. Throughout this time the differences between the two congregations was increasingly heated and confrontations often occurred. In 1848 this congregation built their first church and named it Emmanuel. It was located on the site of the present church. The Tennessee Synod and the effort to translated The Book of Concord, a work defining Lutheran doctrine, began here. The second Emmanuel church was dedicated in 1892. Church subscribers donated the $5,664 needed for construction before it began. The church reflects a Byzantine influence. It features numerous arches and rich, vivid stained glass windows dedicated by Paul Henkel. The ceiling was painted with a fresco of the Apostle’s Creed which was repainted in the 20th century after it was damaged by humidity. Emmanuel also sponsored a parochial school for elementary and high school students from 1913-1926. This organization was originally sponsored by the Tennessee Synod and was named the Shenandoah Lutheran Institute. In 1922 the synod ended funding and for four years the church maintained the school independently. After 112 years of separation, the two Lutheran Churches reunited in 1932. Differences had been bridged during the 20th century when both groups began to adopt portions of the other’s theology. In addition, many of the personal conflicts that had emerged disappeared when those involved passed. Twenty-three years later Reformation Lutheran Church was built at the site of St. Matthews. Today Emmanuel is no longer used for regular services but it is maintained for special occasions. For more, view the original article.