A STEP BACK IN TEAM: SAXON LUTHERAN MEMORIAL PAYS TRIBUTE TO GERMAN LUTHERANS

Logs on the Fenwick cabin were numbered with metal tags for reassembly at the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna.

The soft, autumn colors illuminated German religious texts in the main house at the Saxon Memorial.

FROHNA -- The sights and sounds of Germany will come alive today during the 19th annual Fall Festival at the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna.

The fall festival is an annual fund-raiser for upkeep and expansion of the Saxon Lutheran Memorial. The memorial is a tribute to the 700 Saxon immigrants who migrated to America from Germany in search of religious freedom in 1838.

During the day, apple butter and soap will be made over open fires, and local and regional artists and crafters will demonstrate their skills at the event, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Attendees will be asked for a donation as they enter the grounds. Parking is free.

The 30-acre historic site features several restored buildings from the 19th century, including a log barn within a frame structure, two small log buildings thought to have been slave quarters prior to the arrival of the Saxons, a two-story log cabin and two single room cabins.

The Saxons brought with them a chest filled with German money. They used the money to pay for their voyage to America, supplies and rent during the winter months in St. Louis.

They later used the rest of the money to buy land in Perry County in the winter of 1839.

"Some people gave up all they had for the sake of their religious convictions," said the Rev. James Marten, curator of the Saxon Lutheran Memorial. "The Saxons were very mission-minded and established churches immediately."

The Saxons also established seven communities in Altenburg, Dresden, Frohna, Johannisberg, Patizdorf, Seelitz and Wittenberg. The movement fell apart shortly after they arrived in east Perry County.

Marten said the movement's collapse was largely caused by Martin Stephan, a pastor who led the group to the region. Stephan was accused of womanizing and misadministration of the common treasury.

The Saxons also were angered because Stephan declared himself a bishop and wanted to have a castle built for him to live.

"It's ironic that the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod does not have bishops, even though they started off with one," Marten said. "About a month after they came here they put him in a boat, sent him across the river and told him never to come back."

The confusion following Stephan's departure resulted in the Altenburg debate of 1848. In that debate Dr. C.F.W. Walther successfully used biblical scriptures to convince colonists to stay in Perry County rather than attempting to return to Germany.

A statue honoring Walther is on display at the memorial.

The site of the Frohna community, where the memorial is located, was almost destroyed when property first settled in 1839 by the Berght family was sold by public auction. A farmer bought the land and had planned to demolish the original buildings that remained on the property.

His plans were thwarted by divine intervention which appeared as a large swarm of bees, said Marten.

"Even a lowly bee has it's place in divine providence," he said. "If it hadn't been for the bees, these places would have been burned down and we would never have known their significance."

The Concordia Historical Institute of St. Louis later purchased the property and began a preservation process to restore the buildings.

The memorial was dedicated Oct. 31, 1964, on the 125th anniversary of the Saxon's immigration.