History
On July 1, 1827, a small group of 21 Lutherans who had been attracted to the thriving community of Blairsville were organized into a congregation called Hebron Lutheran Church. Nicholas G. Sharrets, a pastor in Indiana who had been conducting services on occasion to this small group prior to its organization, became its first pastor. This was the first distinctive English Lutheran Church
to be established west of the Allegheny Mountains. The first house of worship owned by the congregation was a log church erected on Walnut Street in 1827 at a cost of $1,000. In 1835 the congregation received a liberal gift of two lots on the comer of North Liberty and West Campbell Streets from Elder Henry Graff. That location remains the site of the present church structure. Some 50 years later the building was extensively remodeled at a cost of $5,500. A final remodeling took place in 1926 under Rev. W Blair Claney at a cost of over $30,000, which included the addition of our present Sunday school wing. More important than the buildings were the people who through the years have been strengthened and inspired by the good and faithful leadership of its pastors. In the early days the church was not only the center for worship but it was the nucleus of social life in the community. Throughout these 183 years, Hebron faithfully accomplished ministry. Continuously providing a place of Lutheran worship for generations of Blairsville area families. The community relied on Hebron in times of duress to care for the needy in and around Blairsville. Hebron members responded notably providing meals in the Great Depression of the 1930s and to the present with volunteers and materials for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This tradition of mission continues in our present ministry focus.
