OURLOCll.LHISTORY

Acoording to Dr. Bor-nheim+e History., St. ~1arkts was organizedin J nnunry, 1859 with Dr. Bernheim as the organizer. The customduring those days wnsfor any minister to have for his own use thoseSundays which ha.ppened to be fifth Sundays in tho month. They couldvisi t congregctd ons without pastors and LocaH ties whore no Lutheranchurches had been established. January 30, 1859 was such a Sundny soDr. Bornheim came to Cha.rlotte to solicit funds for the Luthera.n schoolat Mount Ploa.so.nt. 110 found instead a smnll group eager to organizo andstnrt a Luthoran Church in Charlotto. Thore wore 16 cha.rtor nembers.Tho first days wore difficult onos (r-emember- the Civil Wo.r Ccu:J.O o.longjusta. fow yoars la.ter) und tho struggling church had to be assisted,financially and otherwise, by the North Carolina Synod.

So':;. l':o.rkt s MS had three church homos. Tho first House of Worshipwas a frame building at the corner of 7th and College Streets, - thepr oscnc loca.tion of tho Negro Presbytoric.n Church. This little f'rnmechurch sut back in a grove of troos and belongodto the Methodist Church.Whon the Llcthodists built Tryon Streot Church they sold to tho Lubho r-ansfor $600. This building W~3 used for 13 years - until 1872.

The second homo was located nt 510 N. Tryon Stroet nnd was also nframe structure. This cornerstone WD.S lo.id in 1870 and the building wasdedic~ted in 1872.

The third Church was of brick nnd is essentially tho sumo Church weknow today. By the time of this erection t!10 C!1UrC~1had bocono 801f-supporting and ha d the Rever-end T. S. Drown (:Le8~,~189J) as pus+or-, Thebuilding was erected in 1885 and WClSdodicato~ OCTob~r 31, 1890. Thecornerstone nay be found to the left of the lef'G e rrbr-c.nce to the Churchbehind tho shrubbery and i~ dated October 31." 1885. The origino.l SundaySchool building wo.s loca.tod in tho basement, of +he Church and is now the~'l.dult Dopo.rtmont Auditorium. This room WCl.S uao d for o, numbor of year-ans tho Church - until noncy could be Clccunuroo.tod to finish the regularchurch audf toriun ups tcd r s , At tho time of' its complotion this churchproperty was considered the most o Ie ganb in the North Carolino. Synod.The nen directly responsiblo for tho building weres

Rev. T.•8. BrownW.A. ED-rrierJa.oob Du l sS.E. Linton

W.O.

C.H.lV.O.T.L.W,H.

Earnhardt

DulsEa.stonSeigleCrovrell

R.M.

II.A. KlueppolborgD.S. II olabaughG.L. KruegerA.R. Willnc.nFishor

Wo aro listing those n2..!:l.OSbe causo momor'Lo.Ls honoring D. numbo r of thcI:lI!lD.y be found in the Church and in tho Young Poop.le a ! Depo.rtmont of theSundo.y School. The nembe r shap of tho Church 0. t this timo was 17'P~ Anumber of the older nombors toll us that they carried building and loanstock individually in ordor to pa.y for this Church.

Dor-nhe Im , G.D. History of tho Ev::mgolico.l Lutherc.n Synod a.nd 1.~inisteriumOf Ncr,rth COoralina., Lu b ho r-o.ri Pu8lication SociOty, Philc.dclphic.. 1902.