Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church / Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church

In 1849 the Reverend Wilhelm Hattstaedt founded a Lutheran congregation in Hillsdale. It was organized in 1854 under the Reverend Phillip Trautmann as the German Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church. Construction on this building began in 1854, making it the oldest church building in the City of Hillsdale. At its founding, the church planned to hold services in German exclusively; but like many ethnic churches, by the end of World War I it held all services in English. For its fiftieth anniversary in 1904, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church upgraded its interior with a new brass chandelier, steel ceiling tiles and a 1,050-pound bell. The church acquired the building next door, Lakeview School, in 1954 and renamed it Luther Hall. The building has housed church meeting space, the Hillsdale County Senior Center and the King’s Kupboard Food Pantry. Later additions at the back of the church and Luther Hall provided more space and accessible entrances.