Emanuel Lutheran Church of Montra

Emanuel Lutheran Church of Montra
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Front and side of the church
Location	16714 Montra Rd., Jackson Township, Shelby County, Ohio
Nearest city	Montra
Coordinates	40°25′54″N 84°5′35″W / 40.43167°N 84.09306°WCoordinates: 40°25′54″N 84°5′35″W / 40.43167°N 84.09306°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1873
NRHP Reference #	82003640[1]
Added to NRHP	May 13, 1982

The Emanuel Lutheran Church of Montra is a historic church in Jackson Township, Shelby County, Ohio, United States.^[2] Located in the unincorporated community of Montra,^[1] north-northeast of the county seat of Sidney,^[2] it is the congregation's second building.

Montra was platted in 1849, but five years passed before any buildings were erected at the site. St. Emanuel's Lutheran Church was organized in a Montra storeroom in 1860 with a membership of sixteen families. The congregation worshipped in this storeroom until the completion of their first church on the eastern edge of the community in the autumn of 1862; this building measured 40 feet (12 m) by 30 feet (9.1 m) and was built at a cost of $700. Fire destroyed this building in 1874, leaving the congregation homeless for several months. A replacement church was erected on the site of the old during the summer of 1875; a frame structure like its predecessor, the new church cost measured 50 feet (15 m) by 40 feet (12 m) and was built at a cost of $1,800. It was officially dedicated in October 1875.^[3] Built on a stone foundation, the white wooden building is topped with a steeple and features five windows on each side.^[4]

In 1982, Emanuel Lutheran Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a property that had made significant contributions to American history.^[1] Today, Emanuel is an active congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. According to the denomination's most recent published statistics, the congregation had 190 members and an average Sunday worship attendance of 51 in 2006.^[5]

References

1. National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. DeLorme. Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer. 7th ed. Yarmouth: DeLorme, 2004, 55. ISBN 0-89933-281-1.
3. History of Shelby County, Ohio With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia: R. Sutton, 1883, 209.
4. Emanuel Lutheran Church of Montra, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2010-02-27.
5. Emanuel Lutheran Church, ELCA. Accessed 2010-02-26.