- A third steamer Cape Girardeau was christened 100 years ago (3/26/24)
- Cape Girardeau christens its namesake (3/19/24)
- The humanist philosophy of Lester Mondale (3/12/24)1
- Cape Osteopathic Hospital opens its doors (3/5/24)
- 8 killed and a million dollars damage done in 1924 tornado (2/27/24)1
- Jackson's militant priest, county recorder at odds over marriage licenses (2/20/24)
- Streaking fad comes to Cape (2/13/24)2
Eiseleben Lutheran Church
In 1983 I attended the funeral of my father's mother, Hulda Sander Sanders Hilleman, at Eiseleben Lutheran Church in Scott City. Even at such a somber moment, I took notice of how beautifully decorated the edifice was. While I was aware that it wasn't the congregation's original house of worship, I didn't know the history of the church, nor the tragic fire which damaged its tower and bells in 1963.
Lutherans began gathering in the homes of the Fornfelt (now Scott City) faithful in 1848 for worship services. On April 2, 1848, two acres of land were purchased in Fornfelt. In 1851 the congregation was officially organized, and four years later the first church was constructed. That served until 1868, when the congregation moved its house of worship to a farm site in Illmo (also now Scott City). They erected their Stone Church from brown sandstone harvested from a rocky bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.
The Old Rock Church served until 1913. It was then dismantled and the sandstone walls became the foundation for the present church. The two bells from the Rock Church, purchased in 1891, were moved to the new in 1914.
The bells continued to call the faithful to worship until the fire of 1963:
In August 1964, the congregation celebrated the dedication of a new, open-design tower. Coincidentally, it was the 50th anniversary of the church itself:
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