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The area around Coryell City was settled in the 1880s by a number of German immigrant families. Desiring to worship in their native language, a group of settlers began meeting together in homes. The Rev. Johannes Barthel of the Luthern Church occassionally conducted services for the settlers. He was succeeded by the Rev. R. Seils, who officially organized St. John Luthern Church on December 7, 1889, in the Home of Fritz Wiede. The congregation purchased two acres of land and built their first sancturary in 1890. It was replaced by a larger structure in 1908, which served the congregation until it was destroyed by fire in 1921. A new sanctuary built that year was replaced by a red brick structure in 1959. Worship services were periodically conducted in the German language until 1952, despite some ill feeling the practice caused during the years of World War I. Adjacent to the church is the St. John Lutheran Cemetery. Dating to the 1890s, it is the final resting place of many church and community members, including verterans of World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. |
