St. Paul's Union Church - a photo on Flickriver

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St. Paul's Union Church in Schuylkill County, PA also known as The Old White Church was built in 1842, the wood frame meeting house style church has hosted generations of protestant parishioners and other welcomed guests.  This 1200 square foot building and adjacent cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. 

The history of the Old White Church truly reflects the religious history of America and exemplifies the reverence our forefathers gave to their God and the importance they placed on the establishment of a suitable place of worship.  

The earliest known settler in the Ringtown Valley (then known as the Catawissa Valley) is thought to be Frederick Labenberg, who purchased a tract of land in 1798 in the western part of what is now Union Township.  In 1808, he sold his land and moved to the central area of the Valley known as Krebs and later lived there with his daughter Christina who had married Jacob Zimmerman. 

Meanwhile, another early pioneer, Thomas Gootschall, settled in 1802 in the Girard Manor area of what is now East Union Township.  His house became the first building used for church purposes, while prior to that time groups had assembled at various homes to worship.  The importance of worship to these early sttlers of German descent is evident in all historical accounts.

Exactly when the Lutheran congregation was formally organized is not certain.  Earliest records date back to 1810 with the recorded August 19, 1810, baptism of Matilda Voght, daughter of Adam and Susanna Voght.

It is not known when the first log church was built, but it is thought that a burial plot was established at the site prior to the erection of the log church... The oldest known burial was that of Jacob Eisenhauer, son of Johann and Eva Eisenhauer, who died May 9, 1815 aged 2 years, 11 months, 26 days.

The biography of Jacob Zimmerman states that he took an active part in the organization of the Lutheran Congregation and was much interested in the building of this log house for worship... This log building also served as a school, with records dating prior to 1820.  The Catechism and Bible were the only text books and the language was German.

[As the population grew to 487 in 1820] the settlers of the Lutheran faith were joined by those of the German Reformed faith... who both shared the same log church for worship.  By 1840, the population had increased to 904... and a larger church building was needed.  In a joint congregational meeting it was decided to build a two-story 'board' church.  These people were simple farmers and laborers, but they were rich in spirit and pledged what they could in time and materials.  And their work continued long after the building was finished as they faithfully cleaned and cared for their House of God.

Taken on: July 12, 2024

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Sets appears in: • PA- Columbia, Luzerne, Schuylkill Counties

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