A fading congregation - German Evangelical Emanuel Lutheran Church once stood at the heart of Centertown’s early German community

This painting by the late Hazel A. Andtwiler, created in the 1950s, depicts the German Evangelical Emanuel Lutheran Church in Centertown as it likely appeared around 1900. The modest rural church, surrounded by farmland and its adjoining cemetery, served generations of local German families. Though the building no longer stands, the image preserves the quiet beauty and historical significance of a once-thriving congregation.

The German Evangelical Emanuel Lutheran Church once stood as a quiet but enduring symbol of faith and community in Centertown, its simple yet elegant structure reflecting both the modesty and resilience of the area’s early German settlers.
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Though the church no longer stands, its image lives on through a painting created in the 1950s by the late Hazel A. Andtwiler, depicting the building as it appeared around 1900. The artwork captures the understated beauty of a rural church that, for decades, served as a spiritual anchor for generations of families in the region .

The congregation was formally established in 1876, during a period when German immigrants were steadily shaping the cultural and religious landscape of central Missouri. The following year, on Aug. 25, 1877, adjoining land was purchased for use as a cemetery, though records indicate burials had taken place there as early as 1871. Altogether, the church property encompassed nearly three acres, reflecting both its importance and its permanence within the community .

Like many rural congregations of the time, Emanuel Lutheran was closely tied to the lives and livelihoods of its members. Among its early congregants was John Frederick Flessa, a Bavarian immigrant whose influence extended well beyond the church. Flessa established and operated the Flessa Flouring Mills in Centertown alongside his son, John Jacob, contributing to the area’s agricultural economy at a time when milling operations were vital to local farmers.

In 1900, Flessa joined other investors in founding the Centertown Milling Company, a venture that underscored the community’s growing economic ambitions at the turn of the century. Among his partners was Bailey Lansdown, a businessman from Russellville who relocated to Centertown that same year and opened the Lansdown Mercantile Company—further evidence of a thriving rural economy tied to both agriculture and commerce.

Flessa’s family remained deeply connected to the region. His son, Adam Flessa, was confirmed in the Lutheran church in Centertown and worked alongside his father in the milling business before later managing operations near Russellville. Over time, Adam transitioned into other ventures, including managing a livery stable, before retiring in 1948. His life reflects the adaptability required of rural Missourians navigating the shifting economic conditions of the early 20th century.

Another key figure in the church’s early history was John Leonard Blochberger, also a Bavarian immigrant and a founding member of the congregation. Blochberger’s roots in Missouri’s Lutheran tradition ran deep. In 1852, when he was just 25, German immigrants gathered at his family home to establish what would become St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lohman—a congregation that would play a central role in the region’s religious life for generations.

Like many early settlers, Blochberger balanced faith with agricultural enterprise, operating a farm north of Centertown. His descendants continued that tradition of entrepreneurship, with his son William later owning successful businesses in several Missouri communities, including Lohman, Cole Camp and Sedalia.

Despite its importance, Emanuel Lutheran faced a persistent challenge common among rural congregations—its size. With limited membership, the church was unable to support a full-time pastor and instead relied on shared ministerial arrangements with nearby congregations. For a time, Pastor George Fikenscher of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Lohman provided services, but in 1891 he withdrew to focus on his primary parish.

The Centertown congregation then turned to St. John’s Lutheran Church in Schubert for support.

“A delegation from Immanuel Church, Centertown, appeared at the January 1, 1892 meeting to request that Pastor (Ernest Frederick) Geyer hold services in their parish once a month,” according to A History of St. John’s Lutheran Church—Schubert. “After a lively debate, the request was granted….”

This arrangement evolved over time, with Pastor Geyer eventually serving the Centertown congregation more frequently, though not without challenges. The dual-parish system required careful coordination and, at times, reluctant compromise between congregations.

In 1895, additional support came when Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was established in Russellville. Pastor J. Paul Franke, already serving congregations in California and Russellville, occasionally filled in at Centertown as needed. His successor, Pastor F. Schardt, later oversaw a three-point parish that included Centertown, further illustrating the interconnected nature of rural Lutheran communities at the time. Despite these efforts, maintaining consistent pastoral leadership proved difficult.

By the early 20th century, the congregation increasingly relied on visiting clergy. Pastors such as Alfred Finkbeiner, a Swiss native serving St. John’s in Schubert, and later Ernst Kaatz, continued the tradition of shared ministry, but the arrangement remained tenuous.

After 1919, the situation grew more uncertain. Though Pastor O. Rossbach of Trinity Lutheran Church in Russellville provided support between 1923 and 1944, the congregation’s numbers continued to decline. Following his departure, only limited services were held, and efforts to sustain regular worship gradually faded.

The final years of the church reflected a broader trend seen across rural America during the mid-20th century. Population shifts, changing transportation patterns and the consolidation of congregations all contributed to the decline of small, isolated churches. Emanuel Lutheran was no exception.

By the late 1950s, the building had fallen into disrepair, its once-active congregation reduced to only a handful of members. In the early 1960s, the structure was sold and ultimately demolished, with the $90 raised from the sale placed into a fund for the upkeep of the cemetery .
Yet even in decline, the church’s legacy endured.

The bell that once rang from its belfry found a new home in 1960 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Jefferson City, gifted by Otto and Edith Schramm, the last remaining members of the congregation. Both are now buried in the cemetery that continues to mark the site of the church’s former presence.

Since 1977, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in California has overseen the care and maintenance of the cemetery, ensuring that the stories of those buried there are not forgotten.

Today, visitors to the site can still trace the outline of the church’s limestone foundation, faintly visible at certain times of the year. The front of the building once faced north toward Lookout Trail—Old Highway 50—while North Waterford Road passed along its eastern side. 

The names etched on the remaining gravestones—many tied to communities such as Stringtown, Millbrook, Lohman and Russellville—serve as enduring reminders of the people who built both the church and the community around it.

Though the German Evangelical Emanuel Lutheran Church is gone, its story remains.
It is a story of faith, immigration, perseverance and change—one that mirrors the broader history of rural Missouri and the communities that once flourished there.

Jeremy P. Amick is author of the historical compilation "Lutherans of Cole County, Missouri. 

The Rev. O. Rossbach, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Russellville from 1923 to 1944, also provided ministerial support to the German Evangelical Emanuel Lutheran Church in Centertown. His service helped sustain the small congregation during its later years as membership declined and regular pastoral leadership became increasingly difficult to maintain.