This
file part of www.watertownhistory.org
website
Ebenezer Moravian Church
and
Watertown Moravian Church
Ebenezer Moravian Church
[south of city]
1853-2003
1987, Prior to
Renovation
06 11 2003
Ebenezer Moravian
Church, located four miles south of Watertown, marked its 150th anniversary in
2003.
Ebenezer Moravian
Church was one of the first churches established in the Watertown area. In the
spring of 1853, the Rev. John G. Kaltenbrunn, a former teacher and Moravian
missionary from Silesia, Germany, left New York City for Jefferson County to
minister to a small group of German immigrant families who had requested a
pastor from the Moravian Church.
Only a month and a
half after his arrival, on
With contributions
from the Home Mission Society of New York, the members built a one-room log
cabin in the fall that served as parsonage, house of worship and schoolhouse.
That same year Kaltenbrunn started a German day school, which continued to hold
classes until 1925. From Ebenezer he traveled the surrounding area establishing
preaching places that eventually became organized congregations in Watertown,
Lake Mills and DeForest, and earned him the reputation as the "Father of
the Moravian Church in Wisconsin."
Originally
incorporated as "The Moravian Church in the Town of Watertown," the
name was changed to Ebenezer after the congregation dedicated its first
church-building on
The Moravian Church is
a Protestant denomination with more than 500 years history, preceding even the
Reformation. From its inception, the Moravian Church has emphasized God's love
for all people, fellowship and understanding. The Moravian Church of America is
comprised of nearly 160 congregations and 50,000 members of all walks of life,
in 17 U.S. States and two Canadian provinces.
Link to Ebenezer
Moravian Cemetery file
Watertown Moravian Church
[within city]
1854-2004
1901-1902
Click
on images to enlarge
First
church building,
Church
building erected in 1864. Dedicated
August 14. This second building was
replaced by the present church in 1904 and has since been enlarged upon and
improver.
1904
11 17 1904
The
new Moravian church will be dedicated on Sunday, November 20. Bishop J.
Mortimer Levering, president of the provincial elders conference of Bethlehem,
Pa., will officiate, preaching the dedicatory service in German at 10 a. m. and
English at 7:30 p. m. The afternoon service at 2 o'clock will be a jubilee
service, the congregation having been 50 years old September 11. Offering for
the new church will be taken up at every service. The public is cordially
invited.
1908
Charles
Fischer attends provincial synod of
the Moravian church. 09 04 1908
1956
02 23 1956
The
Rev. Thorlief Harberg, pastor of the Moravian Church in Northfield, Minn., has
been named pastor of the Watertown Moravian Church and will take over his
duties here in September. The Rev. Mr. Harberg will succeed the present pastor,
the Rev. Dr. Victor L. Thomas, here since 1944. Dr. Thomas will move to Madison
in September to assume his new duties as president of the Western District of
the Moravian Church in America, to which he was elected last year. He succeeds
Bishop I. R. Mewaldt of Madison in the office of the district presidency. The
new minister of the Moravian Church is no stranger to Watertown. He is known among
the Moravian community here and has been a visitor at various times in
Watertown and has appeared as a guest preacher at the local church.
1956
04 22 1981
Members
and friends of the Watertown Moravian Church will celebrate the dedication of
its new pipe organ and the rededication of its remodeled sanctuary on Sunday.
There will be two celebration events. The old organ was purchased by the
congregation in 1937 from a Milwaukee firm that rebuilt old theater organs.
Because of badly needed repairs, the congregation voted to purchase the new
instrument from the Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, Ohio, a firm that has
been a leader in pipe organ construction for over 100 years. The instrument
consists of two manuals and pedal divisions. The great and pedal organs are
exposed in the center of the chancel wall and form a visual frame around the
cross. There are 19 ranks plus a one-half rank extension for a total of 1,125
pipes.
1982
12 22 1982
Rev.
Jack Hicks’ Christmas gift to Rev. Eric
Schulze
2003
Watertown Daily Times, 12 20 2003
A
small brick home at 609 Cole St. was the original home of the Watertown
Moravian Church, now located at 510 Cole St., about a block to the west of the
original building.
The
Moravian congregation in Watertown has its roots in the pioneers who came here
from Germany in the mid-19th century.
Names
like Strehlow, Klatte, Flath, Witte, Hans, Klausch, Botzel, Klar, Gerbsch and
Eberle immigrated to the United States from Brandenburg, Prussia and settled
near Watertown in the spring of 1851. They had been part of the state church in
Germany but they learned about the Moravian Church from Brother Joachus
Niedershoe and his wife who were church workers.
By May
of 1953 Father John Gottlob Kaltenbrunn arrived in Watertown and the
congregation was formed. The congregation was officially organized on June 17,
1853, and the congregation took on the name Ebenezer, just south of the city
limits.
By
September of 1854 a second congregation was formed, this one in the city. It
was done with the blessings of the Ebenezer congregation. Original founders of
this congregation were August Volkmann, George Marquardt, August Schiffler,
Gustave Eberle, Henry Homan, Henry Bruns, Frederick Gerbsch, Louisa Volkmann,
Marie Marquardt, Catharine Schiffler, Marie Eberle, Marie Homan, Henrietta
Gerbsch and Louisa Gerbsch. In addition there were eight children for a total
of 22 souls.
The
first board of trustees were Henry Homan, George Marquart and Frederick
Gerbsch. Brother Kaltenbrunn was voted to become pastor.
On
Sept. 16, 1854, just months after Watertown was incorporated as a city, the
trustees completed purchase of a building lot which was later known as 609 Cole
St. It was 50 feet wide and 108 feet deep. The cost was $80 of which $40 was
given by the Ebenezer congregation, $15 from members of the new congregation
and $25 as a loan from the Ebenezer congregation. That was big money back in
those days.
The following
year, in 1855, the congregation began construction of its church and school
building. The building was 18 by 36 feet. In it was the worship area and the
school room for a "Universal Christian School." Subjects to be taught
at the school included religion, reading, arithmetic, writing in German and
English, orthography, geography, history, English speech, singing and
"other advantageous knowledge." Tuition was set at a maximum of 25
cents per month.
The
teacher was to be paid $100 a year and was to get living quarters and wood for
fuel.
The
building was ready for plastering by July 4, 1855. Lumber for the building was
obtained from timber donated by the Ebenezer congregation from their cemetery.
Bolz and Quintmeyer made a donation of 1,000 bricks. Individual congregation
members donated labor and cash. One person was hired by the month to dig the
cellar and otherwise assist with the building project. When it was all done,
the new building cost $500. School went into session on Sept. 10, 1855.
With the
opening of the school, the congregation learned it was carrying a debt of $105.
To give you an idea of the size, at that same time, the pastor's compensation
was $9.50 per quarter. But, by Christmas of 1856 the congregation was free of
debt.
In
1863, the school was turned over to the "English and German Christian
Academy of the City of Watertown" and by 1870 the school was closed.
The
year the school was turned over to this society the congregation saw the need
for a new church building. In November of that year the church council voted to
move ahead with plans and on May 5, 1864, the cornerstone was put in place on
the present building at Sixth and Cole streets.
After
that time, the original building was sold and used as a private home until it
was demolished in 2003.
Abstracted from Watertown Daily Times, 09 14 2004
The Watertown
Moravian Church congregation celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2004.
The Watertown
Moravian Church was a product of pioneers who came to this country from Germany
in the mid-19th century. These pioneers had experience with the Moravian Church
in Germany prior to their travels to the wilderness of the Midwest and applied
to the governing board of the Moravian Church in America, located in Bethlehem,
Pa., to supply them with a minister for their spiritual needs.
In response to the
request, the board in Pennsylvania sent the Rev. John Gottlob Kaltenbrunn who
arrived in Watertown in early May 1853. Since most of the families lived in the
country south of Watertown, the center of worship for the newly organized
congregation was located there. The first Moravian congregation in this area
was organized on June 17, 1853, and was named Ebenezer.
Soon thereafter a
number of other families in the city of Watertown joined the group and the need
for a separate and local organization became apparent. At a meeting held on Sept. 7, 1854, it was
agreed to meet again on Sept. 11 for the purpose of organizing a new
congregation. The newly formed,
congregation was incorporated as of that date under the name "The Moravian
Church in the City of Watertown."
There were 22 people who were part of the first church with names such
as Marquart, Volkmann, Schiffler, Eberle, Homan and Gerbsch.
The first property
was a parcel of land which was 50 by 109 feet. The purchase price was $80. The building that was erected in 1855 was on
the south side of Cole Street between North Sixth and North Eighth streets. It
was decided to operate the school as a Christian Day School, then spoken of as
a "Universal Christian School."
By 1863 the school
was turned over to a Christian Society which was incorporated the following
year as "The English and German Christian Academy of the city of
Watertown." The school was
officially closed in 1870.
In November of 1863
at the meeting of the congregation a decision was made to proceed with plans
for a new edifice. Sufficient funds were received so that the work could be
started the following spring and the cornerstone could be laid on May 5, 1864.
Progress on the church building was so rapid that both roof and tower were
added five weeks after groundbreaking and the interior completed early in
August, 1864.
The entire cost of
the new church was $2,512.62. There were 52 communicants and 60 children.
Sunday School attendance ran between 80 and 90.
In 1903 plans for a
new church began to take shape. It was the 50th anniversary of the congregation
and the new building became known as the Jubilee Church. The bid from J. A.
Denning of Janesville for $11,856 for the entire building ($10,738 for the
church without the chapel) was accepted. The first church was tom down at a
cost of $350 which included clean-up of the old lumber and bricks for reuse in
the new building. The bell in the church tower was added in 1907. In 1928 a
Milwaukee architect was hired to draw up plans for a thorough remodeling of the
church sanctuary, entrances, chapel and second floor Sunday school rooms, and a
new heating plant.
In 1934 the use of
the German language was discontinued at the regular services of the church.
In 1936 a new pipe
organ was purchased and installed by Wagnerian Organ Company of Milwaukee for
$2,000. The Mamre Moravian Church bought the old organ for $50 and is still in
use by that congregation.
In preparation for
the 100th anniversary an extensive remodeling of the downstairs, the choir loft
and Sunday School rooms of the church was done. At that time there 420
communicant members and 126 children. Under the leadership of Pastor Thor
Harberg in the early 1960s the congregation voted to build a new Christian
Education wing. It was dedicated on January 31, 1965, with the inclusion of the
cornerstone from the first church built in 1864.
There have also been
building improvements in celebration of the 150th anniversary.
Cross-References:
No 1: Establishment of Marquardt Manor by Watertown
Moravian Church
