CHURCHES of our ANCESTORS
IMMANUEL, AUGSBURG, ILLINOIS
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Fayette County, Illinois
1917 - Present
See the Augsburg Church website.
Pictures and comments submitted by David Knecht, who grew up
at Augsburg and was confirmed there in the 1950's.
This Lutheran congregation, in the tiny village of Augsburg, Illinois, was originally organized in 1876 by the Rev. Meier, their first Pastor. Immanuel's first Church building was dedicated on 20 Jan. 1878, and at that time, the building was one mile south of its current location. Several years later it was physically moved to the village of Augsburg. This original structure served the congregation until the early 1900's, when the membership finally outgrew its capacity.
The current Immanuel Lutheran Church at Augsburg was built in 1917, and it has a seating capacity of approx. 350. When this "new" Church was built, the original Augsburg Church was converted into a Lutheran Parochial School. This one room school remained in operation for 97 years, until it was finally closed down in 1975. The average attendance for Augsburg school was around 40 students, however one year they attained an all time high of 92. The Augsburg school, (originally the church), was finally razed in the mid-1980's.
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Immanuel Lutheran Church of Augsburg
Fayette County, Illinois
Built 1878, (see above), this is the church that was later
used as a school. Teacher's residence on the right was sold
recently to the Mennonites, and moved several miles east.
The name of "Augsburg" was given to this little village at about the same time that the area residents initially submitted an official request for a Post Office. They knew that they first needed a village name, in order to complete the US Postal Application, so local store owner, Gottfried Metzger, took the initiative to get everyone in the surrounding community to agree on a name. They eventually came up with this name of "Augsburg", in honor of the home town of their beloved Pastor at the time, who was originally from Augsburg, Germany. The Post Office application was ultimately approved, and from about 1880 to 1900, it was located in the back of the Metzger General Merchandise Store. By the way, that old store building is still standing yet today, located directly east and across the road from the church.
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