The St. Paul's Evangelical Church on Orchard Street, Kemper Place and Fuller-ton Parkway, celebrates its eighty-fifth anniversary today.

The church was founded in the year 1843 in a grocery store, by the following men: G. Schairer, K. Teschner, John Pfund, Charles Stein, B. A. Beyer, H. H. Rantze, Arnold Kroeger, William Frank and Jacob Letz. This congregation, had not more than ten members at the beginning and received its first minister in 1846. On April 12 of that year, which was Easter Sunday, the young Pastor August Selle of Ohio, gave his first sermon and it met with the approval of his listeners.

Because Pastor Selle soon left the congregation to join another movement, they 2were compelled to look around for another pastor. Dr. Joseph Anton Fischer became the second pastor, but, owing to his wife's poor health, he soon had to accept a call to Portsmouth, Ohio. His successor was Pastor Joseph Hartmann, who had emigrated from the Palatinate. He came in 1851, and after a few years became the unquestioned leader of the congregation in civil as well as religious matters. It was granted to him to serve the congregation for thirty-five years; during which time he christened not less than 12,000 children and married about 9,000 couples. While he was pastor the congregation built the first brick church, which was destroyed in the fire of 1871. - In the year 1886 it was decided to release him on account of the burden of the position, and because of the misfortunes visited upon his family. His place was taken by young Pastor R. A. John. In 1893, while he was pastor the church was rebuilt, and later, in 1897, it was sold by the congregation when a larger and more beautiful church was built on Orchard and Kemper Place. Until 31910, Pastor Johns could minister to the congregation alone, but at this time the strain of hard work began to tell on him and an assistant pastor was appointed. The assistant pastors in succession were the following: Pastors Paul Sperka, David Bruning, and Ernest Rahn who one after another accepted calls to other parishes. As the continuous change of assistants did not benefit the congregation, in 1911, it was decided to employ Pastor Jacob Pister as assistant, with the understanding that he would succeed the pastor. Therefore, after forty years of service Pastor John became Pastor Emeritus, and Pastor Pister, who is still in office today, took over his position.

Since the beginning, St. Paul's Church has cared for the orphans. Therefore, a home was built for them on the corner of Burling and Center Streets after the fire. This was also sold in 1927. In 1928, at the same place, the new 4Uhlich Orphan Asylum was erected on California Avenue, where the best and most prominent members of the St. Paul congregation devote their services.

This is in short, the history of St. Paul's Church for eighty-five years. Today the congregation is closely united and exercises its blessed influence upon wide circles.