Genealogy Trails
Churches of
Stephenson Co IL

First Lutheran
308 South Galena
Freeport


In 1851, initial steps were taken by the Lutheran Women's Home and Foreign Missionary Society in America to organize an English Lutheran Church in Freeport. First services were held in old Temperance Hall. In 1881, First Lutheran was organized by the Reverend T. F. Reiser. The following year, a lot at the southeast corner of Jackson and South Galena Streets was purchased as a church site for $900.

During the pastorate of the Reverend H. A. ou the church cornerstone was laid and the edifice was dedicated. The organization became self-supporting in 1893 and assumed its present name. Today's structure (1954) is similar to the first church building. Its twenty stained glass windows are said to be the most beautiful of their kind in the city. The church plant of today consists of the main church auditorium, the large educational building, and the structure housing the church offices and the pre-school classrooms.

Information from the book "Camera Studies of Freeport IL" by Robert F. Koenig 1954

The First Lutheran Church as it looks today 2006.. Click on the photo to visit their website
They will celebrate 125 years this November

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