Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Wartburg
CITY:
Wartburg
COUNTY:
Monroe
DEDICATED BY:
Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Wartburg and The Illinois State Historical Society
DEDICATION DATE:
November 3, 1996 at 6:00:00 AM
The marker is located in Wartburg, on the Maeystown Road four miles southwest of Waterloo in the church parking lot.
The church was organized in 1841 by Pastor G. A. Schieferdecker and settlers from Saxony, Thuringia, and Westfalia, Germany. The site was donated in 1849 by Johann Christian and Katherine Just. The present church was erected in 1863, and the tower was re-built in 1913. English services were introduced in 1926 but did not predominate until 1946. Monthly German services were discontinued in 1967. The congregation also operated a Christian day school here from 1841 until 1960. Holy Cross is considered the mother church for several surrounding congregations.