Zion German Lutheran Church

1897 - 1939

The German Lutheran immigrants gathering in and around Oconto Falls rapidly increased in the 1890s . In 1897 they established Zion German Lutheran Church which was a congregation serving German speaking residents, located on the southeast corner of Franklin and Union Streets. Zion belonged to the Joint Synod of Ohio and was being served by a pastor of Emmanuel Evangelical United Brethren Congregation who lived in Morgan.
(Click the button  for the Morgan EUB church history page)

St Jacob's Lutheran Church

1905 - 1939

As the Oconto Falls community grew, many other Lutheran people also settled here and in 1905 developed an English-speaking congregation, St. Jacob’s Lutheran. The church building was built at the southeast corner of Washington and Caldwell Streets.

Both congregations operated independently with and St. Jacob’s belonging to the Iowa Synod and being served by a pastor who lived in Oconto Falls. With language becoming less of a barrier after World War I and with three synods merging to form the American Lutheran Church in 1930, the people of Zion and St. Jacob’s began talking about the possibilities of being one congregation.

Grace Lutheran Church

On June 4, 1939 the two congregations merged, adopted the new name of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, and decided to combine the belongings of each congregation and use the St. Jacob’s facility. Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church continued to grow over the years making it necessary to periodically enlarge and remodel the building. The last service in the 1905 building was held in 1960.