O’Fallon church celebrates 140th anniversary

“As early as in the sixties German Evangelical people settled in O’Fallon and vicinity. While their number was not sufficient to warrant the organization of a congregation, their spiritual needs and desires were satisfied by neighboring Evangelical pastors. These pastors came on Sunday afternoons and occasionally conducted services.

“This naturally created the desire to have regular services and a resident pastor. About the middle of the seventies the German School Association engaged Rev. A. Hanff as their teacher. Rev. Hanff volunteered to conduct services, which he occasionally did for about two years. Finally under the leadership of Rev. J.H. Maul, located at Ridge Prairie, six miles west of O’Fallon, definite steps were made towards organizing a congregation. On October 29, 1876, a number of Evangelical people met in the old German school house, and completed the organization of the congregation.”

So was the founding described of the O’Fallon Evangelical Church, now known as the O’Fallon United Church of Christ. Happy 140th anniversary to one of O’Fallon’s oldest churches.

75 years ago, Oct. 30, 1941.

With an unusual amount of property damage by pre-Halloween pranksters being reported, Mayor Ridge Smith issued strict instructions to the police department to curb the nuisance by arresting all persons caught in the act of defacing or destroying property. During the past week the city has received complaints from various sections of the city where shrubbery and other yard decorations were the target of youngsters, who in several cases practically demolished the shrubbery and in other ways damaged property.

50 years ago, Oct. 27, 1966.

A railroad brakeman suffered a cut to his right ear when he was struck by a bottle while riding in a caboose going through O’Fallon Oct. 17. A day later, another case of vandalism was reported where rocks were thrown through caboose windows.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "O’Fallon church celebrates 140th anniversary."