HISTORIC OCONEE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA Subject: Saint John's Lutheran Church Version 1.0, 5-Jan-2003, FCH-08.txt **************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization, or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula - nn8nn Seneca, SC, USA Oconee County SC GenWeb Coordinator Oconee County SC GenWeb Homestead http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/oconee.html Oconee County SC GenWeb Tombstone Project http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/cemeteries.html http://www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/southcarolina/oconee.html Contributor: Frederick C. Holder, Box 444, Pickens, SC 29671 **************************************************************** DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at kankula1@innova.net in Jan-2003 DATAFILE LAYOUT : Paul M. Kankula at kankula1@innova.net in Jan-2003 HISTORY WRITE-UP : Frederick C. Holder in 1989 ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH - Built 1859 - 1861 Few people riding or walking along the Main Street in Walhalla fail to notice St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. This beautiful white painted wooden church was built between 1859 and 1861 under the direction of John Kaufmann, a master builder from Baden, Ger- many. In designing St. John's, Kaufmann used several German ar- chitectural styles, which can be found in German churches from the medieval period through the late 1800s. A group of German-Americans in Charleston made up the membership of The German Colonization Society. This society pur- chased in 1849 the land that became Walhalla. Their purpose was to provide land for German Americans living in Charleston who wished to return to farming and a new homeland for Germans who had left parts of Europe because of political or religious problems. Some of the im- migrants lived in Charleston for several years before being offered the opportunity to settle in present-day Oconee County. The new settlers established a thriving community, and Walhalla's population remained primarily German or of German des- cent until after the Civil War. In 1853, the Germans of Walhalla organiz- ed St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. The congregation, which at first met in a house in West Union, constructed a church building some six years later. In 1868 Pickens District was divided into two counties (Oconee and Pickens), and Walhalla became the county seat of the newly- formed Oconee County. A number of people came to Walhalla from Old Pickens, and others moved there to take advantage of expected new business opportunities. The ethnic character of Walhalla was eroded as children of Germans chose to adopt the customs and language of those in the larger Oconee County community. By the turn of the twentieth century, many of the German customs and traditions in Walhalla had been lost. Many of the early buildings of Walhalla have been destroyed by fire and decay since the founding of the town, only to be replaced by other structures. St. John's, however, still dominates the Main Street as a constant reminder of the German heritage in Walhalla. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Location: 301 West Main Street, Walhalla. The building continues to function as a Lutheran Church. READING LIST: George Benet Shealy, Walhalla: A German Settlement in Upstate South Carolina (Seneca, S.C.: Blue Ridge Art Association, 1990), 1:73-87.