St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1871 by German immigrants. The congregation purchased land in the northeast quarter of Section 29, Middle Creek Precinct, Lancaster County, Nebraska from the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad. Christian Borgmann represented the congregation in the land transaction. A new church was built in 1880 and a school was added about that same time. The church faced north on what is now the corner of SW 112th and West O Streets. A parsonage was built in 1881.

St. John’s was one of the earliest Lutheran churches in the area of Emerald, NE. With the establishment in 1884 of Zion Lutheran, two and a half miles northwest of St. John’s, several families left St. John’s and joined the new church. The church suffered another loss of membership in the early 1920’s due to a dispute over the use of the German language for services. Membership continued to decline. The last worship service was held in October 1953. The church building was sold and moved to Lincoln to be used by a Mennonite congregation. A lot including the parsonage was sold off. Other buildings, including the school, were sold and either torn down or moved to other locations.

(information from The History of Emerald, Nebraska 1862-2017, by Dale V. Nobbman)