St. Paul Lutheran Church

Front: This church, founded ca. 1761 by the Rev. Joachim Bulow, is one of the earliest Lutheran congregations in what is now Newberry County. A log church built nearby before the Revolution was replaced by a frame church. A larger frame sanctuary, built ca. 1830 during the pastorate of the Rev. Michael Rauch, would serve the congregation of St. Paul for 108 years. Reverse: The Rev. J.A. Sligh (1835-1917), the longest-serving pastor here, served St. Paul from 1865 to 1912 and is buried in the church cemetery. This Gothic Revival sanctuary, built in 1936-38, was constructed of granite quarried near Pomaria and designed by Willie Koon, brother of the Rev. S.P. Koon, pastor here 1916-1934. The first service here was in 1938; the church was dedicated in 1941.