The Church on the Hill

For more than 150 years, St. Paul's has been known as "the church on the hill" in the hamlet of Lohman, Missouri.

The church was founded in the fall of 1852 by German immigrants who wanted a place to worship in their own community rather than relying on itinerant preachers who passed through.

Seven families gathered together and began looking for property that would make a good location for a church. They found 40 acres atop a hill in Lohman and bought it for $50.

St. Paul's first church was a simple log struction, and no one is really sure when it was built, but one thing that is for sure: the second church was built in 1872. The stones for the building were quarried in the Lohman area, and when it was completed, the old stone church cost a whopping $4,716. Later in 1880 the church built a school house,

This church was used until the 1920s when a fire destroyed the interior. The members of the congregation rallied again, and around that old stone bell tower and steeple, the current church was built. Four bronze bells from the old church tower and the original pipes for the organ were also incorporated into the new church. Work was completed in nine months and the building was dedicated in November of 1924, and the new church cost $23,000.

Over the years many improvements have been made to the church including the beautiful Schulmerich Carillonic Bells, which were added in 1946 and dedicated to the 44 beloved sons of the congregation who served in the military during World War II. Ten years later in 1956 the church's organ was rebuilt and a choir loft installed at the front of the church. More importantly, however, bathrooms were installed in the basement of the church in 1961!

Another major building project was undertaken in the late 1990's, with the addition of a 4,800 square foot educational wing and expanded fellowship hall. How times have changed! This new facility had a project budget of $215,000--far more than all the budgets for all the churches combined!

The Parsonage

St. Paul's built its first parsonage in 1890, to the tune of $1,806...big money to a group of cash strapped farmers. The building was used for almost 60 years and served as a home to many of St. Paul's pastors.

In 1948 work began on a new parsonage. One year and about $20,000 later, the parsonage was dedicated. Nearly 60 years later the parsonage underwent a major remodeling in the fall of 2007 in anticipation of the church's calling a new pastor during 2008.