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Immanuel Lutheran Church, School, and Parsonage
Date Unknown, but probably around 1910
About 5 miles northwest of Amherst, Nebraska,
and about 2 miles east of the former town Watertown.
In 1883, a preaching station was established here at the home of Mr. Sohrweid, and another established at the home of Mr. Rieckmann, east of here. (This latter group later formed the St. Paul Lutheran congregation at Peake.) At first the pastor from Grand Island came to serve the people in this area. Services were held in the home of the members until a sod church was built in 1884. It was 14' X 28' and had 6 windows.
The founders of the congregation were Wm. Sohrwied, Wm. Luehr, J.F. Hartmann, Gust Bergt, Henry Zarrs, John Thiede, Ernest Hannemann, Fred Hartmann, and Fred Albrecht. Later that same year the following were accepted into membership: John Meister, Henry Herbst, Carl Rusch, Wm. Dahlke, and Carl Siebke. By 1 April 1887 the following, in addition to Rev. J. E. Baumgartner, had signed the constitution:
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Wilhelm Sohrweid J.F. Hartmann Henry Zarrs Ernest Hannemann Friedrich Albrecht John C. Meister Carl Rusch Carl Lieske Friedrick Kretzer August Sohrweid Louis Gerke Robert Fellwock David Kuebler Hermann Wuehle | Wm. Luehr Gustave A. Bergt John Thiede Friedrick Hartmann August Czenkusch Henry Herbst Wilhelm Dahlke Freeze Fischer Herman Falk Friedrich Rodenbrock Ernest Hemmann Wilhelm Wuehle Wilhelm Trampe |
The sod church was replaced by the frame building shown above in 1889. The school was established before 1886, with classes in German and English. The first school building was also sod; a frame building, 20' x 30' x 10' high was built in 1899.
In 1907 a daughter congregation, Trinity, was established in the town of Amherst. In 1970, because of the declining rural population, the two congregations merged. Records of both churches are kept at Trinity.
Immanuel records were transcribed in 1986, and Mona has a copy of that transcription. Request a look-up.
See Scott Township for a map
showing the location of Immanuel Church in Section 20 of Scott Township.
See also Memoirs of a Pastor's Wife