Zion Lutheran Church   Paullina, Iowa 1889-1992

The roots of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church date back to 1889. Rev, Ernest Zuerrer, St. John's first resident minister of Christ, at Germantown began to hold services in Paullina. In fact, Zuerrer was the only Lutheran minister in O'Brien County. The first Paullina service was held in a local school building.

On August 2, 1891, Rev. Henry Schwenk was ordained and installed in St. Mark's Lutheran Church of Mill Creek. The church was located one mile south and one-fourth mile west of the Evangelical Free Church of Meridan. He served the Paullina-Sutherland-Peterson area.

Under Rev. Schwenk's leadership, the German Evangelical Lutheran Zion congregation was organized in 1892. The following six charter members signed the adopted constitution: Henry Strampe, Charles W. Lange. Claus Hansen, Henry Siemsghusz, Joachim Strampe, and Henry Reimers.

The following pators was served Zion over the years:
1893-1903 Rev, C.D. Muoffer
1904-1908 Rev. August F. Bennthal
1909-1927 Rev. A.H. Semmann
1927-1942 Rev. John Hartmeister
1942-1957 Rev. Martin Peters
1957-1966 Rev. Paul H. Sohn
1967-1971 Rev. Melvin E. Thur
1973-1987 Rev. Donald Johnson
1977-1983 Asst. Pastor William Timm
1985-1987 Asst. Pastor Terry Jobst
1988-Present (1992) Rev. Stephen Kamprath

Zion Church 1906

In May 1905, the congregation of fourteen voters decided to build a church and school building. Henry Strampe, Claus Hansen and Carl Lange deeded a piece of property on Main and Grosbeck. On June 23 the contract for the building was let to Edward Hilker with Henry Zoch as mason for $3,200. The cornerstone was laid on July 15, 1906 and by October 28, 1906 the new church was dedicated.

In 1908, Zion of Paullina consisted of over 100 communicant members. In 1909 the parsonage was purchased for $4,200. In 1915 the pipe organ was bought for $1,245. It served the congregation for 40 years.

Miss Faulstick was the first full time teacher. In October 1916, the congregation purchased the three lots on the northeast corner of Mickley and Day Streets. There a new school room was constructed at the cost of $900.

The need for a larger church facility became apparent in 1926 which led to the remodeling of the building. The renovated an enlarged church with a full basement was dedicated on September 26, 1926, at a cost of $26,000. The church was used until l959.

Eventually the church was torn down and the current medical clinic was built on the basement of the old church. Marks of the past can be seen on the basement floor.

The Golden Jubilee Service was celebrated on September 27, 1942. In 1948, the church adopted a new name--Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.

In 1949 plans were underway for a new church/school building. In 1954 the congregation had decided to raise $150,000 over a three year period for the new building. In 1959 the building was completed at a cost of $200,000. Its location was at the south end of Main Street. The property had been purchased for $5,500.

The dedication service was Sunday, August 23, 1959. Besides the regular building funds, many members made special memorials and gifts for things like nave lights, pews, doors, alter furnishings, and lectern. The bell was removed for the old Zion Church and transferred to the new bell tower.

Many other building improvements have been made over the years. A major addition to Zion was the pipe organ in 1976. It was constructed by the Schantz Organ Co. of Orville, Ohio. There are 19 1/2 ranks of pipes, plus 6 extensions, for a total of 1,273 pipes. The total cost of the organ was $55,000. The pipes vary is length from the size of a pencil to 16 feet.

Zion Church 1992

A more recent improvement to the church was the installation of air conditioning in 1992. It was donated by Armond and Elnora Straub in memory of family.

For some unknown reason records of the church from 1911-1927 are missing. In addition, council and voter minutes from 1963 to 1973 are absent. The church would appreciate any information concerning the where abouts of these records.

In 2022 Zion Lutheran Church still has a strong congregation.