|
Evangelical
Lutheran Church
of the Holy Trinity |
The
Elgin National Watch Factory was the inspiration for many people coming to
Elgin, but who would have supposed that it would also be the inspiration for a
Lutheran Church? When Ada Beck (Lindoefer) moved from Gosen, Indiana to
take a job at The Watch Factory, she found no Lutheran Churches that celebrated
the services in English. She immediately went to work to correct this
situation. In
October of 1902, a meeting was planned in Unity Hall between Miss Beck and other
perspective members. By June of 1903, Rev. Paul W. Roth, who recently
graduated from The Chicago Lutheran Seminary was appointed the first
pastor. He began officiating over his congregation of 41. The
land in the picture above was purchased in may of 1904 for $4,200. The
Cornerstone was laid in June of 1906 and the church was completed in
1907. Webmaster's
Note: After I bought this card and did the research, I though it would be
nice to drive past the church, but had no idea where it was. One of
Elgin's nicknames is "the city of churches" for good reason.
When I finally found it, I was shocked to realize that it was exactly one block
from where I work. In fact, when I took my students on a field trip to The
Elgin Academy, we cut through their parking lot. It just goes to show, the
whole world is in front of us, all we have to do is open our eyes. JPM. |