UNIONTOWN REPRESENTS IMPORTANT PIECE IN HISTORY OF GERMANS IN MISSOURI

UNIONTOWN -- Saxon Lutherans, opposed to the Rationalism being forced on them by the State Church in Saxony (Germany), and hoping to find more financial opportunity, flocked to Perry County in 1839 and 1840.

Johann Gottleib Frentzel (often spelled "Frenzel") and his family were among 128 Saxon Lutherans who left for the area in Oct., 1839, led by Pastor Karl Freidrich Gruber. Things were not smooth. One of the five ships (with 56 people on board) was lost at sea. Upon arriving in Perry County, the group found the previous expedition's leader, Martin Stephan, exiled to the East bank of the Mississippi.

After surviving on the hospitality of their fellow Lutherans and nearby Presbyterians that winter, the immigrants began clearing their own land and building homes in 1840. Thus began Paintzdorf -- whose name was changed to a patriotic "Uniontown" following the Civil War.

Johann Gottlieb only lived until 1843. He lived long enough, though, to erect a nice two-story house along the old El Camino Real. His son, Charles Augustus Frentzel, soon came of age and in 1853 purchased the land facing the family home. On Oct. 26, 1855, having constructed a mercantile structure, Frentzel opened his store for business. He sold $21.30 worth of merchandise his first day. (A clock, purchased by Charles Schneider for $4.50, was the biggest sale of the day, according to the store ledger, which still survives.)

Charles Augustus Frentzel lived until 1899, running his thriving general store. At about the time he opened it, he married Amelia Hopfer, daughter of two immigrants from the same journey. They had eight children.

Some time before his death, C.A. Frentzel built an extensive addition onto the family home and either built a new store building or added onto the original. Judging by the architectural styles and other factors, this seems to have been done in the 1870s.

C.A. and Amelia's second son, Alvin A. Frentzel, had taken over the Frentzel Store before his father's death. He continued to run it into the 1930s, when failing eyesight caused his retirement prior to his death.

It was taken over by members of the Hopfer family -- distant cousins. Descendent Jim Frentzel speculates that Alvin Frentzel -- his grandfather -- may have still owned the building during this time. During the Hopfer years, a coffin manufacturing business was also run out of the store.

"He almost went blind," said Frentzel, who grew up in Jackson. "When we were kids he was retired, although he probably still owned it. The Hopfer family had it.

"They made the wooden coffins," he recalled. "Us kids would go down there and look around, half scared anyhow. One time we took one of those coffins down to the pond, going to use it for a boat. It sank right off."

It was still an old-fashioned general store during the 1930s.

"They had clothing and had a post office and then they had, coffee and sugar, some canned stuff...which was around for that time," Frentzel said, "as well as a candy counter. A lot of the stuff was in barrels. They shipped 'em by riverboat that landed in Wittenburg, then sent a horse and wagon to Wittenburg and pick up that stuff. They shipped a lot of stuff in those days by riverboat."

The store was owned by the Winters family 1939-1967 and continued to be a general store, as well as the Uniontown Post Office. Linda and Roger Hagan ran an antique business in the aging structure in later years.

During recent years it sat empty, leaving the Thompsons some major restoration work. The Frentzel house across the street was also empty and largely hidden by trees and brush.

The restoration of both buildings promises to spark additional interest in the Frentzel family and in the history of Uniontown.