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ST. PAUL'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN
also known as KORNTHAL LUTHERAN CHURCH Union County Illinois Genealogy Trails Photos and History contributed by Duane and Linda Hileman Located two and one-half miles south of Jonesboro just west of Route 127.
KORNTHAL “Valley of Grain” The
church was built by Protestant families of the Lutheran faith who
immigrated from Austria to this country in the year 1852-53.
Landing at New Orleans these immigrants came up the Mississippi by
flatboat to a spot called Willard’s Landing near the present town
of Ware. Traveling a few miles eastward they settled in a fertile
valley which they called Kornthal, meaning valley of grain. The
community was never incorporated as a village, but at one time
consisted of a church, a church school and parsonage, a box factory, a
grist mill, a country store and a distillery. The present
parsonage is not the original one.
The planning of the church was begun soon after settlement was made and typical Austrian Betsaal (house of prayer) design was used. Austria was then under Catholic domination and Protestant churches were not allowed to have spires, nor were they permitted to have doors opening on the street. It was a plain frame oblong structure with side doors and no steeple, 30 x 50 feet in size. The front entrance, the steeple and bell tower were added in 1889. The inscription over the door reads Evangelical Lutheran St. Pauls Church  The interior of the church is
impressive because of its unique design and the fine quality of its
workmanship. The pews were hand made of native yellow poplar, complete
with kneeling racks. Balconies were constructed the full length of the
building on both sides. The high pulpit placed the minister on the
level of the balconies.
A
stairway consisting of 12 steps leads to the pulpit and it's guard rail
is done in graceful wood filigree. Each step of the stairway
represents one of the 12 apostles. According to legend, should any one
of the steps collapse then that step is the one that symbolized Judas
Iscariot.
 Over the
pulpit is a carved canopy surmounted by a cross and containing a design
representing a human eye which is symbolic of the “all seeing eye
of God.” This type of pulpit is the same as one in
Williamsburg and the one in George Washington’s Church in
Alexandria, Virginia.
Painted on the altar in German script are the words, Halte Im Gedaechtnis Jesum Christum, which means in English “Keep Jesus Christ in Memory”. The white enameled baptismal front with its graceful lines, was also hand crafted by the builders of the church. Charles Fettinger, one of the original Austrian settlers is credited with designing and executing these artistic creations in wood that have survived people for over a century. Services in German Until 1923 all services were conducted in the German language and this practice, no doubt, contributed to the decline of church membership. A number of large families moved away and some of the younger members transferred their membership to the English Lutheran Church in Jonesboro. The church was closed in 1949. In 1953 it was reopened and services were conducted four times each summer under the direction of the Kornthal Congregational and Historical Society. It became apparent some years later that the church was in danger of going the way of many historical structures, that of neglect and decay. After appeals were made through several channels for its preservation, the State of Illinois passed legislation in 1960, whereby it acquired the property, repaired and decorated the buildings. In 1965, the State returned local ownership to the newly formed Kornthal Union County Memorial, Inc. Today, the church is solely a community project supported by donations and bequeaths. Periodic special services are planned by the Kornthal Memorial in cooperation with the Union County Ministerial Alliance. The church is also available for funerals and weddings. The old church lives on through the efforts of a number of dedicated people who are committed to its perpetuation, so that this charming gift from the past may be available for the enjoyment of future generations.
PASTORS
 KORNTHAL BAND 
NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT KORNTHAL CHURCH Kornthal Church to Celebrate 50th Anniversary Transcribed and submitted by Darrel Dexter Kornthal church will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Sunday, May 12, and arrangements have been made for jubilee services on an elaborate scale. Rev. Geo. Meier, a former pastor, will preach at 10 a.m. in German, Rev. John Goebel in German at 2:30, and Rev. Baumgartner in English afterwards. Everybody invited. Diner will be served at noon on the church lawn. (Jonesboro Gazette, Jonesboro, Illinois, Saturday, 10 May 1907) Golden Anniversary of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Transcribed and submitted by Darrel Dexter The people of Kornthal celebrated a most interesting event last Sunday, being the 50th anniversary if the establishment of their church. The day was very pleasant and there was a large attendance. At least 250 persons sat down to the splendid dinner served under the trees on the church lawn at noon, and it was made the occasion of glad social reunion as well as deep spiritual rejoicing. Rev. Henry Kumpf of Altenburg, Mo., preached in German in the morning, Rev. Mr. Baumgaertner of New Memphis, Ill., in English at 2:30 in the afternoon, followed by Rev. August Goebel of Compton, Ill., in German. Mr. Goebel is a son of a former pastor of the church and his father sleeps in the Kollehner cemetery. The son left here nearly 30 years ago and revisited the old scenes with interest and enjoyment. His mother is still living. But one of the original members of the church, Mrs. John M. Grieb, is living and she was present. Mrs. Grieb’s years are many, but she is in fairly good health. Of course for her many sad and painful memories as well as pleasant and tender ones cluster around this old church. She was presented with a book as a souvenir of the occasion. The pastor, Rev. F. Preu, read a brief history of the church, its organization and the men prominent in establishing it. It has been a most potent influence of good in Union county, and it is not too much to say that its influence is felt far and wide throughout the United States, for Kornthal has children in many different states. We are indebted to Mr. Preu for the following notes. St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran church at Kornthal was founded in 1857. The first pastor was a man named Huegel. Then followed one Nestmann, who preached in 1857-58; then H. Hempeler, in 1859-60; Johann Heckel, 1860-66; Christian Staiger, 1866-68; Karl Hoerig, 1869-74; Johann Baumgaertner, 1875; J.G. Oehlert, 1875-78; Johann Goebel, 1878-79; Friedrichzur Muehlen, 1879-81; Candidat Sigmund Fritschel, 1881; Johann Doerfler, 1881-82; Geo. Meier, 1883-93; Friedricy Preu, 1893-07. To the congregation belong 33 families and six single persons, or 124 communicants and 151 souls. In the 50 years of its existence, 296 children were baptized and 279 confirmed. There have been 69 marriages and 160 funerals. A total of 12,397 persons took the holy communion. The church is prosperous, and its people are loyal to it, their county, state and nation. (Jonesboro Gazette, Jonesboro, Illinois, Saturday, 17 May 1907) Surprised Their Pastor Transcribed and submitted by Darrel Dexter Rev. and Mrs. F. Preu
of the German Evangelical Lutheran congregation at Kornthal were made
the subjects of a great surprise on Thursday evening of last week, when
at 7:30 o'clock the church bell began to ring and simultaneously a
large crowd of people filed into the church yard. Besides
the families constituting the congregation the following members of the
Southern Illinois Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Iowa
and other states, of which Mr. Preu is the president, had arrived: Rev. H. Kumpf of Altenburg, Mo., Rev. V. Geissendoerfer of Pocahontas, Mo., Rev. G.M. Streetz of Metropolis, Ill., and Rev. J.G. Baumgaertner of New Memphis, Ill. The object of this secretly planned meeting was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Mr. Preu's pastorate. The surprise was complete. During the service Rev. Mr. Streetz and Rev. Mr. Kumpf officiated. The latter delivered the anniversary sermon, which was much appreciated by all. After
the services the brethren of the conference presented their much
respected president with a beautiful library table upon which the
elders of the congregation placed the substantial gift of a silver card
plate heaped full of silver dollars. After this presentation all were served with delicious ice cream, cake, and fruit. (Jonesboro Gazette, Jonesboro, Illinois, Saturday, 22 May 1908) Called to Wisconsin Pastorate Transcribed and submitted by Darrel Dexter The following is from an Oshkosh, Wis., paper: The cut shown herewith portrays Rev. F. Preu, who has taken charge of the Evangelical Lutheran Zion church on Sawyer avenue in West Algoma. (The photograph was not printed in the Jonesboro Gazette.) Mr. Preu will preach his first sermon tomorrow morning. Mr. Preu had charge of a congregation at Elma, Ia., for a year. Previous
to answering the call extended to him from the Elma congregation, he
was pastor of a church at Jonesboro, Ill., for seventeen years. He was educated in Germany, his native land, but was ordained in this country. He
did mission work in the North and South Dakota for over ten years,
taking up that task in 1882 when that section of the middle west was
sparsely settled. He endured many hardships in that work, but his success won recognition for him. He organized many parishes in that district. One parish that he had charge of, grew so rapidly that it was divided into twelve parishes. For several years he was the only Lutheran missionary in North Dakota. Mr. Preu was introduced to the members of his new congregation at the church last Sunday evening by Rev. George M. Weng, and he spoke for a short time. The church was prettily decorated with flowers and the newly organized choir under the direction of Mrs. Weng sang several selections. Mr. Weng, pastor of Christ's church on Church street, had charge of the Zion church from the time of its opening until Mr. Preu arrived. Mr. Weng preached at the Zion church at 8 o'clock each Sunday morning and again at Christ's church at 10 o'clock. The Sunday services at the Zion church will be held at 10 o'clock each Sunday morning. Sunday School will be held at 9 o'clock. There will be no evening services at the Zion church during the summer months. Mr. Preu was accompanied to this city by his wife and they have taken up their residence at 298 Dove street. (Jonesboro Gazette, Jonesboro, Illinois, Friday, 7 Jul 1911) This historic church was
established in 1857 by German Lutherans. It is located south of
Jonesboro on Highway 127 and the Old Cape Road. In a newspaper
account from Sept 29, 1957 it has the following statement: "One
of Southern Illinois' most picturesque landmarks, the old Kornthal
Lutheran Church on Highway 127 just south of Jonesboro, celebrates its
centennial; the observance begins with a re-enactment of one of the
old-time German language catechism classes formerly held in the
adjoining parochial school."
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