Emmanuel Lutheran Church (1920)
-
-
Travel south of the courthouse until you reach Emmanuel Lutheran Church at 216 South Aspen Street.
The Old White Church was built on the site diagonally across the intersection from the current church and next to the graveyard in 1788. It was a building shared by Lutherans and Presbyterians and was used for public worship, burial of the dead and as a school house. The Lutheran congregation was the first organized congregation in Lincolnton and the sermons were delivered in German until 1822. The Old White Church burned in 1893 and a brick church built on the same site was entirely Lutheran. The Presbyterians moved to West Main Street.
The current church was built in the early 1920's. It represents the Gothic style and the floor layout of the sanctuary reflects the shape of a cross as Gothic churches often do. Emmanuel Lutheran Church and the Old White Church Cemetery are both listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Old White Church Cemetery - The first church deed recorded in Lincolnton was January 10, 1788 for two acres at a cost of ten shillings, plus tax, which was $2.40. This lot would be the site of the Dutch Meeting House, the Old White Church and the first brick church in town.
Reverend John Gottfried Arends arrived in Lincoln County in 1785 to organize the local Lutherans. Reverend Arends died in 1807 and was buried under the Dutch Meeting House.
Inside of the decorative fence that encircles the cemetery is the John Hoke family tomb.
Gravestones date from 1807 to 2013. Reverend Arends, whose grave stone is written in German, was the first. The last burial in this cemetery was Elizabeth Schrum Little, December 14, 2013.
View: Emmanuel Lutheran Church
