Last September 13th 2025 St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church celebrated its 150th Anniversary. Every Wednesday we are going to post one of the articles from the time of our Anniversary. These were created at the direction of the St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church 150th Anniversary Committee. This second article of St. Peter’s beginnings follows the years from 1875 to 1887.
*Pastor Detzer’s successor was Pastor Adalbert Kraft (1870-1876) who was installed on September 18, 1870. During his tenure of office, progress was made to the extent that a separate congregation could be formally organized. On September 13, 1875, a constitution was written and signed by the charter members who named the new church for the Apostle St. Peter. Also at this time, subscriptions for the building of a church were gathered from those who were interested in the undertaking. However, this gathering of funds was halted for a time because of the calling away of Pastor Krafft.
After Pastor Krafft had delivered his farewell sermon on the 24th Sunday after Trinity, 1876, Pastor Herman Diemer (1877-1883) was called and installed in April 1877. Now the enthusiasm for the building of a church was revived and by 1880 a nest-egg in the amount of $1,000.00 had been underwritten; half of which had been gathered from members of kindly sister-congregations in Henry and Defiance counties. Soon the building was begun and completed and on Trinity Sunday, 1881, the first Lutheran church in Florida, Ohio, was dedicated to the glory of God. Professor F.W. Stellhorn, of Concordia College, Fort Wayne, and Pastor L. Dulitz, of Napoleon, preached the German festival sermons and Pastor Diemer the English.
During the periods when Pastor Krafft and Diemer provided Florida with church services and official acts, such as baptisms, marriages, etc, these men had their homes in Archbold. Considering the almost impassable country roads of that day and the great distances between the mission stations, it is only natural that these early preachers met with untold hardships on their journeys. But when they would arrive at Florida, they would always find a hearty welcome and good lodging with families such as the Fred Leonhard’s and others.
In 1883 another pastoral vacancy ensued for the Florida congregations when Pastor Diemer accepted a call to Pomeroy, Ohio. At this turn of events the churches in Archbold and Ridgeville Corners decided to call a pastor of their own. So Florida was forced to look elsewhere for spiritual guidance. It did find ready response when Pastor G. M. Zucker of Defiance consented to serve as vacancy pastor. This arrangement lasted for a year and a half, until the Florida congregation extended a call for their own shepherd. The call was received favorably by the St. Louis seminary and on the 12th Sunder after Trinity, 1885, theological candidate Theodore Karl Horst (1885-1888) was installed as the first resident pastor of Florida. From that time forward, it was possible to enjoy divine public worship on every Sunday and to institute religious instruction for the children. Under such single blessings, the congregation grew both spiritually and outwardly for three years when the next interruption occurred. Pastor Horst accepted a call to become the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church of Toledo, Ohio.
Historical information is reprinted from “Word and Sacraments 100 Years September 13, 1875 - September 13, 1975” - Centennial Anniversary Booklet
