Old St. Paul's Lutheran School

11/20/2014

Old St. Paul's Lutheran School is part of a nationwide movement to restore old schools--learn more here:

“The one room schoolhouse is too much a part of America to be forgotten, and its lessons live on in the words of those who learned there as children and grew up to mold the nation. The little...schoolhouse did its job well.” - Eric Sloane

11/06/2014

St. Paul's Lutheran Church is hosting a trivia night this coming Saturday at the church (227 N. Good Haven Dr.) to raise funds for renovation of the old school. Doors open at 6:00 with the contest beginning at 7:00. Call (618) 277-1319 to reserve seats or tables of 10!

11/05/2014

Restoration of Old St. Paul's Lutheran School was officially begun in 2013 by members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, led by church member Alberta Spradling.

11/05/2014

The Lutheran school day usually began with the students repeating Martin Luther’s Morning Prayer, followed by the singing of a hymn. Tuition was 75 cents a month for non-church members. Teachers' salaries started at $25 per month, supplemented by gifts of meat, fresh vegetables, and use of a horse that shared the pastor’s stable.

11/05/2014

During the expansion of the Public School Building on Rapp Avenue, the old Lutheran school building was used for kindergarten classes and the building was also used as an election polling place for many years.

11/05/2014

Classes in the St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church School were taught in both German and English until World War I.

11/05/2014

The first teacher was Mr. Heid, who soon died; his follower, Mr. Ben Gunther, took charge of the school in 1856 and then also died. The other teachers who had charge of the school successively from 1856 to 1881 were O. Gerstenbach, F. Bergesser, and S. Merz, who died in 1881.

11/05/2014

The brick Evangelical Lutheran Christian Day School was built just west of the church in 1870 for $2500, and the church building was also enlarged. The brick school building erected next door to the church was used as a school until November of 1945, when the students began attending the public school system.

11/05/2014

When the school and church became too crowded (in 1854), a new brick church building was erected and put to dual use. The brick building of 36 by 44 feet was constructed to be the church and also to be used as a school at a cost of $2300. It was completed in 1855.

11/05/2014

The first St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church & School met at the farm homes of Jacob Beck and Henrich Schmidt in 1841. Later, the congregation voted to establish a Christian Day School, and both church services and school classes were taught in the one room building from 1849 to 1854.

11/05/2014

The Columbia City Council added Old St. Paul's Lutheran School to the roster of historic landmarks on February 18, 2014.