St. John's Lutheran Church - Grand Prairie Township

St. John's Lutheran Church  - Grand Prairie Township

Story

The Carsten Petersen and related families that appear in grandmother's album attended St. John's Lutheran Church[1]. Grandmother was confirmed in this church (1898) as well as a brother (Carsten - 1899) and several of her sisters (Anna - 1889, Minnie - 1903, and Lucia - 1905 )[2][3].

At the time this picture was taken, the church roof was undergoing maintenance as can be seen by the scafolding boards on the roof on the left and the ladder on the right.  The object on the roof on the right is a mystery - possibly it is a tarp or maybe an artifact of the picture.  As can be seen in the above snapshot, the photographer apparently has a finger in front of the camera lens, so maybe this is just a particle of dust or ash or lint on the camera lens.

Date

It is winter time, as may be noted by snow on the road past the church, but the date of the picture is unknown. All the dates of items in the album so far identified have been between 1905 and 1919 with most of the dates being between 1911 and 1917.

Location

St. John's Lutheran Church  - Grand Prairie Township is located on Mason Road, fourteen miles north and one mile west of Columbus.  From Platte Center, Nebraska, the church is approximately five miles north and four miles east. Its postal address is 39452 - 205th Avenue, Columbus, NE 68601.

Satellite View

Notes

1. Curry, Margaret. History of Platte County, Nebraska, T&CM, Dec 2005. p.256. -  St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/Platte/pages/hpcn0046.htm
2. St. John's Lutheran Church Confirmands - through 1913. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~neplatte/churches/stjohns2c.html
3. Later, the Carsten Petersen family were founding members of the Zion Lutheran Church [4] located in Lost Creek Township on Section 8. Zion Lutheran Church was less than a mile from their home, instead of 15 miles to St. John's Lutheran Church.
   View aerial map and directions from Carsten Petersen home to St. John's Lutheran Church.
4. Curry, Margaret. History of Platte County, Nebraska, T&CM, Dec 2005. p.260. - Zion Lutheran Church [Lost Creek Township]  http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/Platte/pages/hpcn0046a.htm