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

make a change, they both abandoned
it, and it was used no more by
either. The house stood until it fin
ally went to decay.
A large and costly granite monu-
ment has been recently erected BY
the members of St. Peters Lutheran
Church and dedicated as a memorial
to mark the place of the first or
ganized congregation and the first
Lutheran church ever erected in
North Carolina. This monument
stands near the South West corner
in St. Peters cemetery, Rowan
County, North Carolina.
The second house of worship was
also a log church. 1t stood just
back of the present building, and
was used by the congregation until
the new house was ready for occu-
pancy. In this house Rev. Nussman,
the first pastor, began his work and
preached three years; here Rev.
Arndt was ordained and preached
ten years; and here Rev. Storch
entered upon his labors and preach
ed until they moved into the new
house. Then for years the building
was used for school purposes.
The third and present house of
worship is a stone structure, 50x40
and two stories high. The old pull
pit was goblet-shaped with its
board overhead and built
high up against the wall, with
steps to ascend. 1t has
since been removed.
On three sides of the auditorium
there is a ~capacious gallery with
stairs leading up from either side.
The present church building began
in the year IVA and finished in the
year 1894. According to this they
were twenty years in building it.
And judging from the size of the
and of the material of which
it is built, they surely must have
been that long if not longer. The
following members of our congre-
began to build the SO called
Organ Church, viz: George Lewis
Sifert, Wendell Miller, Peter Eddie
nan, John Stirewalt, Philip Cress,
Peter Stirewalt, Michael Goodman,
Christopher Pless, Leonard Siffert,
Jacob Klein, Anthony Kuhn,
Henry Berges, Christapen
John Rendleman, John
Eagle. They were all farmers, de-
pendent upon their labors on the
arm for their support, with none
# modern labor saving machinery.
They must therefore have devoted
to the work of the building, only
hat part of the year that could
best be spared from the farm. That,
we know, wouldn't be But compar-
a short time in each year.
The walls are built entirely of
stone, not hewn or dressed stone,
such as we use at the present day,
out rough uncut stone, just as it
was formed by nature. Where
they procured this stone is a myst-
cry, as there is none like it around
here. They must have brought it
a considerable distance.
The floor, also was laid of large
fat stones. In the gallery facing
the pulpit stood for years and years;
the old pipe organ, from which the
church derives its popular name of
The Organ Church." 1t was built
in the the house entirely by hand,
by a Mr.. Stirewalt, a member of the
congregation, and was one amongst
the very first pipe organs ever built
in America, and the first of any
kind in any church in North Caro-
lima. 1t possessed none of the ex-
ternal beauty and symmetry of the
pipe organs of our day and time,
but it was we'll adapted to its sur
roundings and the object for which
it was made; and for long years its
deep, majestic, solemn voice led the
congregation in its service of praise;
or walled out its slow, heart-search-
ing funeral dirge as the body of one
after another of the people was
carried out to the silent city of the
dead. 1t gradually yielded to the
Of time and use, growing
each year weaker and weaker, until
at length, its work was done. 1t
has long since been removed from
its old place in the gallery, and its
parts have become broken and scat
tered. Many portions of it are care
fully preserved as relics. The con-
gregation has had made, from its
Lady Went Back
IT, TaL;no CARnTn