North Georgetown's Emmanuel Lutheran Church to celebrate 210 years

Special to The Alliance Review
·2 min read
In this 1960s photo, Emmanuel Lutheran Church in North Georgetown was completed with an educational extension and a finished basement fellowship hall.
In this 1960s photo, Emmanuel Lutheran Church in North Georgetown was completed with an educational extension and a finished basement fellowship hall.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church in North Georgetown will mark its 210th anniversary on Sunday with an All Saints Sunday event.

The church, which got its roots in 1813 from German settlers, plans a service at 10:45 a.m. followed by a reception from noon to 1 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall at 27485 Main St. in North Georgetown. Pastor Bob Sander will lead the service, and the events are open to the public, including Holy Communion. Sanders also will be honored for his ministry over the past year.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church was created under the leadership of circuit rider Rev. John Staugh in the early 1800s before North Georgetown was established.

Staugh was the first Lutheran pastor to cross into the Ohio Frontier and traveled more than 100,000 miles to minister to early settlers. Staugh also started the first Ohio Synod of Lutheran Churches.

This 1916 photo shows workers constructing the present brick Emmanuel Lutheran Church in North Georgetown.
This 1916 photo shows workers constructing the present brick Emmanuel Lutheran Church in North Georgetown.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church is the oldest church in Knox Township.

It got its start at St. Michael's Church, which is about a mile east of North Georgetown. Emmanuel’s first church building, a log cabin, was on 8 acres of land donated by the Henry Woolf Family. It then moved to a frame building, then to its present location. The Dellenbaugh Family in North Georgetown donated the land where the present North Georgetown Cemetery sits.

The present brick church was built in 1916, in the village on the east end of Main Street. The present church "down in the village" was built in 1916. Some of the benches of the church on the hill are still being used in the present sanctuary and the church bell and old baptismal font are on display.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church's second church was a wooden building. It burned down in 1947. The church will mark its 210th anniversary on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, with a special service and open house.
Emmanuel Lutheran Church's second church was a wooden building. It burned down in 1947. The church will mark its 210th anniversary on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, with a special service and open house.

Those who attend the anniversary celebration can park behind and on the west side of the building. There are entrances from all the parking areas, as well as the front, east end of the church. Guests can check out displays of the church’s early years, and refreshments will be served in the basement Fellowship Hall.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: North Georgetown's Emmanuel Lutheran Church to celebrate 210 years