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A little history
The St. John's German Lutheran church, otherwise known as the "Old Stone Church", was built over 130 years ago in 1873, yet was only used for about 9 years. The congregation of the "Old Stone Church" was created in 1859; and as the membership outgrew the church, a new church was built in the growing nearby community of Cresco, Iowa in 1882. Rev. Jungck was the pastor of the church until 1881 when he moved his family to Washington state, leaving before St. John's was closed.

St. John's Church was deserted when the congregation moved to Immanuel Lutheran. It has stood through five major wars, unattended and forgotten, nothing more than a stone monument in the middle of a cornfield. The tombstones of those buried at its tiny cemetery are hidden beneath the wild grasses. Sometime in the 1930's the roof fell to the floor; the floors, doors, and window frames rotted. Soon, it became a nice planter box for various shrubs and trees. It took many years for the people of the Preservation Society and founding family descendants of the "Old Stone Church" and the community around it to realize that a piece of their history was slowly deteriorating. It was then that the Preservation Society was created in 1989.

Founding Families
The following listing of the founding fathers has been translated from the original church records. If you recognize any of these names and would like more information or would like to share what you know, please contact us. Information about the individual families who signed the original charter for St. John's Old Stone Church is available on the Founding Families page.
Signatures on the charter included Rev. Karl Jungck, Jacob Gesell, Jacob Woellstein, August Ernst, Heinrich Weber, Philip Bloomenroeder, Charles Dauberschmidt, John H. Jungck, Charles F. Gesell, Karl W. Jungck, Philipp Jungck, Heinrich Fishcher, Johann Gottlieb Hess, Danel Blumenroeder, Lutwig Bernet, Peter Reis, Margaretha Herold, David Breining, D. Blacht, Jacob Frank, Johannes Door, Adam Frank, Peter Frank, Michel Derr.

In the present
In the present, the descendants of the founding families and the Preservation Society are taking steps to save the church and help restore it so that future generations can enjoy a piece of their history. The Preservation Society deals with the restoration and salvation process of the church and its small cemetery. The founding families produced for a few years a quarterly newsletter discussing the "Old Stone Church," the founding families, and geneology. There is also an "Old Stone Church reunion" every year to celebrate the "Old Stone Church", sponsored by Immanuel Lutheran, the Preservation Society, and the founding families.

Church location
St. John's Old Stone Church is located south of Cresco, IA five miles on V58, three miles east on A46, two miles south on 335th Street and one-half mile east on 240th Street.