Augustus Lutheran Church, Trappe, Montgomery County

First of all, it's July. I did not sign off on that. Also, we're in the midst of a dangerous heat wave, and I really didn't sign off on that. Most importantly, I'm sending best wishes to my pal The Hometown Historian, who is currently out of commission due to health concerns but will hopefully be back to pursuing his love of history before long.

Last week, before all this disgusting heat showed up, I had a reunion with my two closest friends from the brief Kutztown University era of my life. AmyBeth, Christine, and I all live roughly an hour's drive away from one another, so we don't get together terribly often, but we try to do it every several months. We spent the morning at the Elmwood Park Zoo, which I had never seen, and then it was proposed that they take me marker hunting. (I have such wonderfully supportive friends!)

We ended up in the historic little community of Trappe, which is home to three markers all related to the Muhlenberg family. Two of them are located at houses, and one at a church, which is what we're discussing this week. Apologies to my mobile readers, this one has a few more pictures than usual. We were wandering around the church property, examining things and taking these pictures, when we came across something I don't usually encounter when I'm on the hunt - an actual human being.

The marker stands at the entrance to the church grounds
at 717 West Main Street.

Her name is Jen Wentworth, and she is the co-chair of the committee which oversees the care and usage of the original Augustus Lutheran Church building. When she found out why we were there, she offered us a free personal tour, and got the keys. Much of what's in this blog post came from things she told us, so thank you very much, Jen, it was a pleasure to meet you and view your beautiful church!

The community of Trappe dates to the year 1717, when Lutherans mainly from Germany settled the land along the Perkiomen Creek. They named their settlement Providence, and in those days they had only itinerant preachers to lead worship services, which was not uncommon for the time period. The nearest established Lutheran church was the Falkner Swamp congregation, which featured in a post last year, and being twelve miles away it was a bit difficult for the settlers to visit regularly. Naturally, they longed for a dedicated minister of their own, especially since the aforementioned itinerant preachers weren't necessarily the most reliable. In 1742, their wish was finally granted. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg arrived after being ordained in Germany. According to Jen, he actually had wanted to be a missionary to India, but at the request of his mentor, Augustus Herman Francke, he agreed to accept the call to Pennsylvania for at least long enough to help this little community set up its church. 

The first building constructed on the church property was actually a schoolhouse, which unfortunately no longer stands; it was so thoroughly torn down that no trace remains today even of its foundations. They did an excavation which proved it. However, a small model of the schoolhouse building marks the spot where it once stood. Henry, meanwhile, drew up the plans for the church building personally, modeling it on churches back in Germany. The floor was made using rocks brought from the Perkiomen Creek, and the construction was completed in 1743. With the congregation's approval, Henry named it after his mentor Augustus - so if you were wondering how a German Lutheran church ended up with a Roman-sounding name, as I was, mystery solved.

Henry, meanwhile, did not leave them and go on that mission to India. He liked the people, he liked the area, and (probably most of all) he liked Anna Maria Weiser - daughter of the famous missionary Conrad Weiser. They married in 1745, and settled into a house close to the church, which Henry built himself and which is still standing. All of their eleven children were born in that house and baptized at Augustus, in the community now renamed Trappe. They later moved to another nearby house, remembered today as Muhlenberg House, which has its own marker and I'll talk more about them later.

The church today is regarded as the oldest unchanged Lutheran church in continuous use in the United States. This is mostly true, although stucco was added to the exterior of the building to protect it from moisture damage. The pews and floors and pulpit are all original. The windows have had to be replaced, but some of them still have original panes, which can be recognized as having a milkier appearance than their newer companions. (Look at the picture of the altar here - there are two original panes in the window on the right.) All of the wooden furnishings were made by local craftsmen from native woods except for the pulpit, which is made of European red walnut and was imported for the church's dedication. It arrived along with a pair of pewter Communion services, a pewter baptismal font, some pewter offering plates, and a German Bible from 1748. 

Jen explained that in that time, the more a person gave to the church, financially, the closer to the altar they would be seated. The pews were fascinating to me; they have what look like kneelers, but are actually footrests, and they also have doors. Jen said this is because in the winter, they would cover the stone floor beneath the pews with straw to help keep the church warmer, and the doors on the pews would keep the straw where it belonged instead of in the aisle. The organ, which is above the altar, is not original; the original was severely vandalized in the 1860s, and was replaced by the current model. The old church has no heating, even now. In 1814, a renovation was performed to add a potbellied stove to the center of the building, and though the stove is long gone, there's still a hole in the ceiling where the pipe used to be. Electricity for the orang is supplied via a cable threaded through an upper window. 

The stairs to the upper level are also original. Upstairs are risers that were traditionally used by servants (and slaves, whose owners allowed them to attend church), visitors, and children who had not yet been confirmed, some of whom left carvings in the wood which have been preserved. Walking underneath one set of the risers leads to the organ loft, which is also where the choir would sit.

During the American Revolution, Henry tried to keep the church neutral. However, several of his parishioners joined the Continental Army. This included his own eldest son, John Peter, who eventually rose to the rank of Major General. In 1777, during the Pennsylvania campaign, the church served as a barracks for soldiers between the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. The cemetery behind the church, which is enormous, is the final resting place of many of those who served in the war. A special plaque, seen here, marks the grave of fifteen unknown soldiers from the war. Major General Muhlenberg is also buried there, and is further honored with a bronze plaque in the church's entryway, which celebrates him as a personal friend of George Washington as well as  an "inspiring preacher, staunch churchman, skillful general, and able statesman." It also notes that he has a statue in the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. He's buried next to his father, who died in 1787 and has the only gravestone in the churchyard which is inscribed in Latin rather than German or English. (There's also a translated stone.)

Augustus continued even after the loss of its founding preacher, of course, and still does now. A parsonage was added to the property in 1836, and has since been modernized and remains in use. A new church building was constructed in 1852, which is the one in which most worship services take place today. They call it the Brick Church. This much larger building provides greater space for the growing congregation and includes a parish hall and other amenities. The Old Trappe Church, however, remains an important part of the church grounds. A candlelit service is held there every year on Christmas Eve, in memory of the founding congregation and first preacher. However, because of the lack of heating, this is not a long service and the big Christmas celebration is held inside the newer building. Since the 1950s, they have also held July and August worship services in the Old Trappe Church. Big events, such as weddings, can also be held in there, and this coming weekend the building will be part of Trappe's celebration of the 250th birthday of the country. This will include readings, prayers, and choir performances. Outside the church is "Heaven's Walkway," which leads from the door of the Old Trappe Church to the Brick Church, and is inset with stones from other churches that were connected in some way to Henry Muhlenberg. These include Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Stouchsburg, where Henry and Anna Maria were married, and the New Hanover Lutheran Church, where Henry preached his first sermon after arriving from Germany.

Jen and the rest of the Old Trappe Church committee are happy to welcome visitors. They do prefer that you schedule your tour, however, instead of just showing up like your intrepid blogger and her friends. Arrange an appointment to tour the beautiful little building between the months of March and November by calling 610-489-9625 or contacting them through their website, which I've linked in my sources.

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Sources and Further Reading:

Official website of Augustus Lutheran Church

Author unidentified. "The Old Trappe Church: America's Shrine of Lutheranism." Historical booklet available free of charge to visitors at the church.

Hogan, Paula. "Heaven Can Wait." Keystone Wayfarer blog, July 17, 2024.

Henry Melchior Muhlenberg at FindAGrave.com

Augustus Lutheran Church at the Historical Marker Database 

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.