History of St. John's

The Early Days – St. John's Meeting House

Settlers began arriving in what is now Miamisburg in the winter of 1795-1796. Roving bands of Indians forced the settlers to live within rallying distance of the larger settlements, and in the spring of 1797 they built a stockade known as Hole’s Station, which became Miamisburg in 1818.

At first, not having church buildings, the early settlers gathered in different homes for worship, without the guidance of a minister. In 1804, the Reverend John Jacob LaRose, a veteran of the Revolutionary War who had served under George Washington at Valley Forge, came from North Carolina to Hole’s Station. A licensed Presbyterian minister, he had taken out a land grant of 160 acres approximately 1 mile southeast of Hole’s Station, on which he built a cabin and lived with his daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Emanuel Gebhart. He gathered the pioneers together, most of whom came from Pennsylvania and were of the Lutheran or German Reformed faith, and founded a congregation in 1805, known as the Society of St. John’s Meeting House. This was the first church in what was then Washington Township. (Washington Township was divided into two townships in 1829, and Miamisburg now resides in the new “Miami Township”).

The church building in which these pioneers first worshipped was a large two-room log structure heated by a large fireplace. It was located a little to the north of the cemetery, along the creek. One room was used for church services and the other for school purposes. Services were held in this building until about 1819. It continued to be used for a school several years longer, after which it was used for a number of years as the home of the janitor of the church and sexton of the cemetery.

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Is Officially Formed

In 1816, George Gebhart donated two acres of land to the congregation, and a church was built in 1819 on the crest of the hill now occupied by the cemetery. The building was a frame structure with a high pulpit at the north end and a large gallery above the floor along the other three sides of the room facing the pulpit. On July 30, 1819, the Lutheran group of the congregation organized officially as St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and adopted a constitution. The Lutheran and Reformed groups continued to worship in the same building on alternate Sundays.

The Old Sanctuary Is Built

In 1860 the old building had become unsafe and was condemned. At this time the Lutheran and Reformed groups agreed to separate. The Reformed group established a church in Miamisburg called Trinity. The Lutherans built a new brick sanctuary building which was completed in 1862 and still stands today (our “old sanctuary”), across the street from the cemetery, on the corner of Gebhart Church and Maue Roads. The interior of the church was redecorated in 1901, and the church was wired for electricity in 1927.

“Recent” History

In 1952 a plan for an extensive remodeling project was presented. This included a church basement for Sunday School classes, a central heating plant, restrooms, a choir room, kitchen, new chancel, stained glass windows, new light fixtures, an electric organ, and a vestibule. The church members donated 3000 hours of labor, including digging the basement out by hand. On February 8, 1953, a dedication service was conducted for the remodeled church.

In 1968 a two-story educational unit and fellowship hall was built. In addition to the fellowship hall, it contained a kitchen, ten classrooms, and a pastor’s study.

On February 19, 1995, we dedicated to God our new sanctuary.

Interesting Historical Facts

• Services were exclusively in German at first. English preaching was introduced in 1836 by the Reformed minister, Rev. Elijah Kuhn. By 1903, German-speaking services were only held the fourth Sunday of every month. (Today, of course, all services are in English!)

• In the old sanctuary, women, young girls, and children sat on the north side of the church and men and young boys sat on the south side. Men communed first, followed by the women. This seating arrangement was abolished in 1932 by Rev. Cassell, who believed that families should sit together and commune together.

• The Ladies Aid and Missionary Society, now known as WELCA, was formed in 1901.

• In 1907, the treasurer reported that for the first time in the church’s history, all expenses had been met and a balance of $18.93 was on hand.

• Offering envelopes were first used in 1909. Up to this time, the deacons and trustees would go out to the people of the congregation and ask for their donations.

• Until 1942, services were held one Sunday in the morning and the next Sunday in the afternoon.