On Sunday, Sept. 28, St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, eight miles east of Princeton and just north of Route 6, will celebrate its 165th anniversary. Rich in history, church records reveal its early beginnings with settlers coming to the area in the spring of 1834.

In the fall of 1833, John Hassler and his family left their home in Munich, Bavaria, to come to the New World. After months on a sailing vessel, the family came to New Orleans and later traveled up the river until they reached Peoria. From that point the family split up to better explore more territory. Some of the sons continued upstream by way of the Illinois River.

According to church records, “The group that went through Peoria to Hennepin found good land nearby. This land, which was to become the Princeton area of Bureau County, was a great wilderness with a mighty river nearby” and after exploration, decided on the territory surrounding the present location of St. John’s Lutheran Church.

In the spring of 1834, they traveled to Galena where the land sale was being held for Bureau County. They purchased the land from a Mr. Hall and permanently settled there.

Early records state “The Indians of the territory were numerous, but they were friendly to the whites and offered no difficulties as they started to settle this part of the country.”

Later, as word reached the Old Country, more families came and settled in the area. Some of the earliest recorded settlers are the Croisants, Searls, Werners, Lehrers, Mays, Merkels, Schneiders, Stadlers, Heits, Heintas, Albrechts, Ihrigs, Walters, Wagners, Hills, Duntermans, Haltes, Keuters, Weissenbergs, Schirmers, Bolzs, Mosers, Linkers, Schlunds, Retts, Wolfs and Hahns.

It was not until several years later that the settlement was visited by itinerant Lutheran ministers who served large territories and paid only occasional visits, sometimes taking months to cover such a large area as they mostly traveled by foot or by horse back. During these times, services were held at the log homes of the settlers but usually at the home of Carl Hassler.

While services were conducted as often as possible, it was not until March 3, 1849, that St. John’s Church was organized in the home of Theodor Walther. Carl Hassler donated two acres of land for church needs. A small building was erected and was used for a school house and also for services. It measured 36-feet-by-18 feet, and later, two rooms were added to serve as a parsonage. In October 1853, the edifice of the first church building was complete, and by 1858, enough money was raised to complete the interior work. Total cost of the new church building was $1,425.49. The first church was a simple building. It did not have a bell, nor did it have a tower for a bell.

The church constitution at that time is written in German script and states the original name of the Church on the Hill as “The German Evangelical Luther Saint Johns Church of Selby Township, Bureau County, Illinois.” This lengthy name remained on the records until 1950. Services were held strictly in German, and children were required to attend German School five days a week. In 1858, the congregation decided to call a resident pastor. Pastor Josias Ritter arrived to dedicate the newly-finished church building on May 20, 1858.

In 1869 it was decided that a steeple was to be built on the church, and in 1873, the first bell was placed in the steeple.

It was not until Pastor Ernest Lack arrived in 1916, that English would be allowed to be spoken at times in the church. When he first arrived, the people were still speaking the German language in the worship services. However by this time, English was the language being used by most members outside of the church. Pastor Lack realized that if the young people were to be interested in the church, they would have to understand what was being said. On Jan. 1, 1917, Pastor Lack convinced the church to ratify the constitution in order to allow English to be spoken at times in the church. This did not set well with the older people, so the transition to English was a slow one. In 1920, the church constitution was re-written in English.

In 1921, the church was faced with a decision whether to build a new structure to accommodate its growing membership. In the general announcements written by Pastor Lack in the June issue of the “Lutheran Bulletin, he states “On Sunday, May 21, quite a few people had to remain outside again for lack of room.” After several years of countless meetings and several heated debates, it was resolved to tear down the old church and that the dismantling of the old church should take place on March 3, 1924. John Schlund was put in charge of the work, but no one was hired to do the work. Anyone could help. The last service in the old church building was held on March 2, 1924, with 133 people receiving communion. The next day, the men began to tear down the 66-year-old building. The brick was salvaged as much as possible to be used in the new building. Over 55,000 bricks were saved with 17,000 of them cleaned in one day. In April 1924, the Peru Construction Co. was awarded the contract for the building, while George Foster of Streator was the architect. The cornerstone of the new church was laid on June 1, 1924.

In the Aug. 9, 1934, edition of the Bureau County Republican, the headlines read “Church on Hill is well Known Institution. Beautiful Edifice, Prominently Located, is familiar to thousands of people.”

“It is an imposing building erected 10 years ago at a cost of $32,000 and is set against a picturesque background of trees, the cemetery and parsonage nearby, and fields in the distance.”

It further describes the new structure as “with brick exterior, is 42-by-74 feet, with the Gothic mode of architecture used throughout. It has two towers, and besides the main entrance, has two side entrances. Beautiful art glass windows, comfortable pews with a seating capacity of 450 persons, a high alter with a fine statue of Thorwalden’s Christ as well as the Lord’s Supper in relief, two seven-branched candelabra, ornate electric fixtures and fine rugs reveal to the worshipper and visitor that resources were not spared in erecting and furnishing the House of God.”

The years to follow would offer challenges for the new building. The beautiful stained glass windows would have to be reinforced with steel rods to withstand the harsh weather and heavy winds. The roof on the towers would often leak and would be cause for repair and eventual replacement of the tower roofs. After viewing the photographs taken over the years, one can see the changes that have taken place on the structure of the towers.

Due to the growing number of children attending church in the early 1960s, a concern to do the best job of Christian education and also to have a building which could be used for various kinds of activities, it was decided to build a parish education unit on to the existing building.

Ground breaking took place on June 25, 1967. The building of this addition progressed rapidly, and by Jan. 14, 1968, the new wing was being used. The new wing included a spacious lounge, pastor’s study and three classrooms with a kitchen and parish hall in the basement.  This new Parish Education Wing had a total cost of approximately $104,900.

The last major construction that took place at the Church was in 2001 when a handicapped accessible elevator was installed. The elevator has four stops which will take the passenger from the lounge area in the Parish Ed Wing to the sanctuary, to the church basement and to the basement in the Parish Ed Wing.

Church services are currently held at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church of Princeton every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. with Pastor Kim Lee-Brown officiating. Several descendants of the original founders of the church remain steadfast in their Lutheran beliefs and membership of the Church on the Hill. The church is open to the public for all who wish to enter for worship.

A 165th anniversary celebration will take place on Sunday, Sept. 28, with worship service commencing at 9:30 a.m. followed by a roast beef and chicken buffet. The Rev. Gary Erickson, assistant to the Bishop and director of Evangelical Mission, will be present for the program of historical reflection which will conclude with a historical film footage. Many historic memorabilia and photographs will be on display.

The following quote is published in a Lutheran Parish Bulletin by Pastor Lack of St. John’s Lutheran Church dated March 1920: “To all who mourn and need comfort; to all who are tired and need rest; to all who are friendless and want friendship; to all who are lonely and want companionship; to all who pray and to all who do not, but ought; to all who sin and need a Savior, and to whosoever will; this Church opens wide its doors and in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.”