Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1934-08-24
(BY z. A. KLUTTZ.)

1t was away back n the dim, tai
distant past, about two hundred
years ago, a generation before the
Revolutionary War, when this sec
ton of country was but an i'm
mense wilderness, when there were
no railroads, no steamboats,, nc
roads, only Indian trails, when the
country was inhabited by wild In
dams, that our forefathers. in Pen
nsylvania, finding it difficult tc
secure farm-hands. and houses at
such prices as to them seemed pos
sible to pay, gathered together their
holdings, packed them into their
scoop-bed wagons, and driving theil
herds of live stock, started out &c
find homes and farm-hands in the
provinces of Virginia and North
Carolina of which glowing report,
had reached them.
Leaving Pennsylvania, they trav-
eled down through Maryland, across
the James River, up the beautiful
Shenandoah valley of Virginia, and
over the mountains into what is
now known as the Piedmont section
Of North Carolina.
Today, the route that they
travelled can easily be traced by the
many Lutheran settlements along
on either side of the way.
At hat time there were no we'll
kept public highways with sign
boards directing the traveller on
his way, but only Indian trails
winding in and out, over hill and
dale and through dense and dark
forests, and often difficult to fol-
low. Then, there were no bridges
spanning the rivers and creeks, but
each stream must be forded, and
that, often where the ford was
rough and rocky, and through deep
and ruushing waters, with high,
precipitous banks on either side.
And not only were these natural
difficulties to be overcome, but
they were compelled to be constant
" on the watch to guard against
and repel the sudden attacks of the
u~nfriendly Indians through whose
territory they must pass.
Thus it was that our forefathers,
through tolls and labors, exposure
and trials, difficulties and dangers,
came to this section of North
Carolina in which we are living to-
day.
In the providence of God, here
they came, a devout Spartan band;
and here they settled when the
foundations of this grand old state
of North Carolina were being laid;
and here they organized their con-
gregations and, side by side with
their homes, erected their churches,
trusting in God for pastors, though
they knew not whence nor how
they would come.
Thus, somewhere between the
years of 1740 and 1745, the first
three Lutheran churches were estab-
lshed; viz. St. Johns Church in Sal
isbury, Zion, now known as Organ
Church in Rowan County, and St.
Johns Church in Cabarrus, then
Mecklenburg County. So far as
can be a%scertained, these three con-
~gregations were organized about
the same time, that is somewhere
about the year 1745, and very soon
thereafter they erected their
churches and held regular services,
conducted by their church officers
But they had no pastor for more
than twenty-five years.
Zion, known as Organ Church,
is located in Rowan County, N. c.,
ten miles South from Salisbury, on
the Mt. Pleasant road, seven miles
West from Gold He'll and nine
miles East of China Grove. The
exact date Of the organization of
the congregation is not known,
but, in all probability, was shortly
after 1745, when those who organ
lied it first came from Pennsyl-
vania to North Carolina. The Or
ganization was effected more than
one hundred and eighty years ago,
and no doubt was the first Luth-
eran congregation ever organized in
this Piedmont section of North
Carolina. At the very lowest esti-
mate Organ Church is n of the
very oldest congregations in all this
section of country; a landmark
reaching away back before the
Revolutionary War to the time Of
King George III, and embracing
in its history from then until now
MANY events with interest and i'm
portance.
It's first house of worship wa.