Page 89

erORY OF A CENTURY
tor, 52 ministers have headed the
Manitowoc church.
  A Methodist church was or-
ganized and maintained in New-
ton for many years. The struc-
ture is still standing although
abandoned for church purposes
about 25 years ago. About 15
years ago it was purchased by
Newton township for a town hall.
       Wesley Methodist
  The Wesley Methodist Episco-
pal congregation was formed in
Manitowoc in 1854 as the German
M. E. church. The church is lo-
cated at Ninth   and  Hamilton
streets. The present structure
was built in 1882 and is one of
the older church edifices of Man-
itowoc.
       German Lutherans
  The early Lutheran pioneers
who came from Germany about a
century ago were from the prov-
inces of Mecklenburg and Han-
over. Unlike their ancestors of
present day Lutherans who came
to America to escape religious
persecution, these forefathers of
Lutheranism in our county came
to escape economic and social con-
ditions in Germany.
  In the spring of 1851, Pastor
Carl F. Goldammer. a young
man educated for the ministry
and sent by the Barmen mission
of Barmen-Wuppertal, Germany.
came to Newtonburg. in our
county at the request of a small
group of settlers and established
the first German Lutheran con-
gregation there. Pastor Goldam-
mer also walked to the small vil-
lage of Manitowoc to hold services
every second Tuesday in the dis-
trict school house at the corner of
Washington and Seventh streets.
  The growth of the village of
Manitowoc brought a demand for
a new congregation in the vil-
lage. In 1853, the first step was
taken when a lot on the north-
east corner of South 10th and
Marshall streets was purchased.
In the spring of 1854, Pastor
Goldammer resigned his county
missions to devote more of his
time to the newly organized Mani-
towoc congregation. As the first
site purchased was deemed un-
satisfactory, the property at South
Eighth and Marshall streets was
in part purchased and in part re-
ceived as a gift from Sam Hinck-
ley of New York.
  Lutheranism has kept pace with
the development of the county.
Most of the Lutheran congrega-
tions are affiliated with the Wis-
consin synod. There are now 13
county parishes, several of which
consist of more than one congre-
gation. Five of them have full
time Christian day schools. Some
of these were organized and main-
tained for spiritual purposes as
early as 1868, offering a complete
academic curriculum, as well as
religious instruction. Schools are
maintained at Maribel, Manito-
woc, Two Rivers, Reedsville, New-
tonburg, and in Liberty.
    Set Up In Newtonburg
  The first German     Lutheran
church was set up at Newton-
burg in 1852 with Rev. C. F.
Goldammer as pastor. The struc-
ture of logs built in 1852 was re-
placed in 1860 by a frame edifice,
and that replaced in 1888 by a
brick church which burned in
1922. The new and present brick
church was dedicated in 1923. The
congregation has always main-
tained a school in connection
with the church and today has
the present frame school house
west of the church consisting of
one classroom.
  A parent off-spring of the New-
tonburg church was the First Ger-
man Evangelical Lutheran church
at Eighth and Marshall streets.
The congregation was at first a
mission of Rev. Goldammer until
1854. A frame church was built
on the site in 1855 and replaced
in 1873 by the present brick struc-
ture. The church    school was
taught by the pastol until 1864
89
MANITOWOC COUNTY, WIS.