Immanuel Lutheran Church

Making Christ Known in Carroll County for Over 240 Years

...a Stephen Ministry Congregation
Text Box: Church History Text Box: HISTORY OF IMMANUEL Ask anyone in the Manchester area about the "big old oak tree", and you are sure to get directions to Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church. Located on the edge of the cemetery just across from the church, the oak is humongous, to say the least. The tree itself is over 320 years old, and the knurled trunk's diameter must be close to five feet. In 1758 King George III of England granted a charter to start a church by the old oak tree. Even then the old tree was a landmark. The tree's actual birth predates the church by some 85 years. The date of the dedication of the original church building is February 12, 1760 which predates the Constitution of the United States by some 16 years, five years before the founding of the town of Manchester itself in 1765. In the beginning there was no stone or brick edifice. The original building was a rustic log cabin built by the congregation members themselves. Most of them were farmers traveling long distances to get to church, since at that time the surrounding countryside was wide open territory. Originally, the church was formed by two separate congregations from two different denominations. At the dedication service, 36 men signed the church covenant including the two ministers from the two denominations. Only the men signed, and we are left to wonder just how many women and children filled that log cabin on the eventful Sunday. These were the founders of what is now Northern Carroll County, and some of their family names are still in evidence in the county today. The two groups of worshippers were of the Lutheran and Reformed denominations which had existed side be side in Germany, home to most of the settlers in the area. Two of the factors causing their union were: intermarriages between the two, and the scarcity of money for the early citizens of the area. Besides, by having both churches under the same roof, the two ministers could more effectively visit and services could be held more often. Up to the year 1798, the old log cabin served as a meeting place when a new larger building was erected to take its place. This served the dual congregations until the 1850's when it was decided that both congregations could be served better if they had their own separate places of worship. The Civil War intervened and not until 1862 was the old church torn down and the two churches on their way to meeting in their own buildings. The Lutherans laid their cornerstone on June 17, 1862, and on October 4, 1863, there was a dedication of the entire new structure. That building served the Lutherans well for over half a century. The cornerstone of the current building bears the date of 1914 and the adjacent Church School Building was erected in 1958. But if you descend into the church basement and peer into an obscure alcove between the church building and the newer educational building you can see the original cornerstones, the first bearing the dates 1760 and 1798, with a newer stone sitting atop with the 1862 date inscribed.

© Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church. All Rights Reserved. 3184 Church St. Manchester, MD 21102. Last Update 12/26/2007

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