Out along the Missouri River Valley, in the area where Gottfried Duden encouraged Germans to settle, is the town of New Melle. One of the most prominent landmarks in town is the church of St. Paul’s Lutheran, organized in 1839 and one of the oldest west of the Missouri River. It is the mother of at least four other congregations, as well.
It was a founding member of the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church. Looking at the back side of the church, you can see that the roof was raised at some point.
I suspect this church was originally constructed in a vernacular style and was then converted into a more traditional Gothic Revival style later.
The stained glass window showing a boat on the water probably references St. Paul’s voyage to Rome as recounted in the New Testament book of Acts.
There are some nice houses in town as well, including these below.
This Greek Revival duplex looks like it could fit in nicely in Benton Park.
Not surprisingly, the sister city of New Melle is the original town in Lower Saxony, Germany of Melle, which today is a prosperous city. It probably wasn’t back when thousands fled the area in the early Nineteenth Century. Interestingly, we figured out that the church below has been converted into a residence.
