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On April 2nd, 1853, Salem Evangelical Church was built and established within Evansville. It was originally built on the corner of 8th and Division Street which is now known as Court Street. But before the church was dedicated as Salem Evangelical, efforts of forming the church were brewing nearly a decade earlier in 1844. These efforts stemmed from Indiana's neighboring state Ohio, more specifically Cincinnati, Ohio. This Methodist group took interest in the Evangelical Association and eventually converted in 1848.These former Methodists eventually formed Indiana's first Evangelical Association in 1852. This new Evangelical Association started to form new mission statements within the Evansville area to attract potential members. The members of the Evangelical Association held prayer meetings within their own homes before buying a church lot for three-hundred and sixty dollars. This new location would be on the corner Eight and Division Street. By 1855 the newly located church had thirty-five active members. These members were divided into two groups led by Jacob and Ludwig Voekel. By the end of the Civil War Salem Evangelical had ninety-six members. In 1873 the church was remodeled and enlarged. At the turn of the century in 1910, the church began to officially hold its services in the English language instead of traditional German. The members of the church also purchased an organ for services at the cost of one-thousand and five-hundred dollars. By 1923 a Sunday School Hall was built on the back of Salem Evangelical. In 1958 Salem Evangelical Church moved location due to the rapid expansion of factories in the area. Then one year later in 1959, Salem Evangelical became General Baptist Church which lasted until about 1977. As of 2009 the property was owned by River City Eagles Club, and they started construction for apartments.

Salem Evangelical Church located at 728 Court St. Evansville, Indiana was one of Evansville's first German-speaking churches and the first Evangelical church. The church itself was built and dedicated to Salem Evangelical in 1853 and the building itself had a long life up until 1977. The significance of Salem Evangelical is directly responsive to Evansville's religions and culture.

Salem Evangelical Church

A walking tour of 12 different historic churches in downtown Evansville, and their stories throughout the years. 

Old First Baptist Church is in Downtown Evansville, Indiana on the corner of 3rd and Cherry Street. Originally built from 1867-1868, Old First Baptist Church had a Gothic Revival Style designed by architect Henry Mursinna. Before relocating to the corner of 3rd and Cherry Street, the church had a prior location at the corner of Centre and Clark Street. On March 18th, 1868, Old First Baptist Church officially moved to 3rd and Cherry.By 1876 First Baptist constructs a Sunday school and then later builds Fairview school which would later become East Side Baptist Church. On January 1st,1922 First Baptist Church changed into the home of Bnai Moshe Temple Synagogue. Then in 1947 the Church of God buys building, which is later turned into the Church of God Parish in 1966. But changes keep persisting as the church once again is dedicated to Bethany Apostolic Church. In 1989 the church is bought by Welborn Baptist Hospital. They planned to demolish it but it was held up at the request of Evansville residents that wanted to preserve the building. Bill Gassier, a local architect believes it may have been the earliest church building in Evansville. Gassier and others tried to preserve as much as possible before the demolition.In 1991 Evansville’s City Building Commissioner Roger Lehman declared the building was not structurally safe and ordered a demolition. Preservationists of the church still fought to keep it up and came to an agreement with Lehman to preserve it for longer. The Riverside Neighborhood Improvement Foundation made efforts through repairs from a $40,000 grant donated by the Historic. Although this grant would still not be enough for preservationists to buy the building from Welborn. Eventually it was demolished in 1998.

Old First Baptist Church, located in Downtown Evansville, Indiana on the corner of 3rd and Cherry Street. From 1867-1868 Old First Baptist Church was built with a Gothic Revival Style designed by architect Henry Mursinna. Before the church relocated to the corner of 3rd and Cherry St. it had a prior location at the corner of Centre and Clark St. On March 18th, 1868, Old First Baptist Church officially moved to the corner of 3rd and Cherry Street.

First Old Baptist Church

The Presbyterian religion has been around in Evansville since the beginning. In 1821, Rev. D. C. Banks came to Evansville and began ministering to the few people who lived there. He ministered in basements, large gathering rooms, private homes, and more. However, it wasn't until Rev. Calvin Butler arrived in Evansville in 1831 that the construction of an actual centered church would be started. He raised $1,300 by taking donations from wealthy men in the area, with the biggest contribution coming from John Shanklin in the amount of $100.00. After one year of building the church, it was completed in 1832. Originally, the Little Church on the Hill was non-denominational; however, by 1836, most denominations had moved, while the Presbyterians remained. 	In 1836, Rev. Jeremiah R. Barnes came to Evansville to be the new pastor; he notes that the most noticeable thing about the church was the “largeness of its windows,” which attests to the beauty of the church. Unfortunately for Rev. Barnes, he came in during a turbulent turning point for the Presbyterian religion, and the congregation quickly split in half between Old School and New School. The leaders of the Presbyterian Church in Vincennes, Indiana, called for the removal of Rev. Barnes for “heresy” acts. However, most members loved Barnes, so the church separated into Grace Presbyterian Church (Old School) and Walnut Street Church (New School). The original building was torn down in 1860, with some brick being preserved and incorporated into the new Walnut Street Presbyterian Church.  	The Walnut Street Church was founded by Rev. WM. H. M’Carer in 1861. From 1861-1863 services were given in the basement of the Walnut Street Church while construction was finishing up. The move caused the church to multiply; the first communion in the new building in February of 1861 was administered to sixty new persons. Rev. M’Carer would finish out his 18 years with Walnut Street Presbyterian 5 years later in 1868. 	After a turbulent first thirty years, the next fifty would be relatively quiet until 1920, when Walnut Street Presbyterian and Grace Presbyterian would again join congregations into First Presbyterian. A year later, First Christian moved into the ancient church and remained there until 1944, when the building tragically burned down in a devastating fire. It was rebuilt in 1948, and First Christian would continue to worship there until 2011 when the congregation moved to a much larger location on the north side of town near McCutchenville. Now, the building is a Gathering Church and has been since 2012.

Walnut Street Presbyterian Church has some of the longest religious history in Evansville. It gets its roots from the first church in Evansville, “Little Church on the Hill,” or the “Little Brick Church.” It was initially founded by Rev. Calvin Butler in 1832 and was non-denominational. However, by 1836, most of the denominations had found a new home, and the Presbyterian church officially had its own place of worship. Thirty years later, the congregation would move locations to the Walnut Street Presbyterian church in 1868. In 1926, the two Presbyterian churches (Walnut Street and Grace Presbyterian) merged to form First Presbyterian Church, which can be found on SE 2nd Street. After Walnut Street, Presbyterian left the historic church, and First Christian Church moved in. In 1948, the old landmark church had to be rebuilt after a devastating fire flattened it. Now, the building is a gathering church and has been since 2012.

Walnut Street Presbyterian 

Built-in 1840 and later torn down in 1889, the Old Assumption Catholic Church has a deep and rich history that expands beyond its four walls. Thirty years earlier, in 1810, Father Deydier and Father Simon Brute left France and came to Bardstown, Kentucky. Father Brute would later become the first bishop of the Diocese of Vincennes, the first catholic diocese in Indiana. Father Brute asked Father Deydier to come to Evansville in 1837 to see if there was a need for a Catholic Church. Once he arrived in Evansville, he found only two catholic families in Evansville, Francis Link and John Walsh. Father Deydier celebrated his first mass in Fances Link’s Mansion House, where he offered the first communion in Evansville. According to his account, Father Deydier arrived in Evansville on May 3rd, 1837. By May 4th, Mary Ann Smith was baptized, the first person in Evansville. Once the Church was built in 1840, it was the only catholic church until Holy Trinity in 1851. Due to the growing numbers of German-speaking Catholics in the area, Father Hailandiere would return to Europe under the orders of Father Brute, where he would come across Roman Weinzapfle, a German-speaking French man. He was ordained on April 5th, 1840, and assigned to Father Deydier as assistant reverend. Fr Weinzapfle would minister separate masses in German throughout his time in assumption. However, scandal would soon plague the young man as he was falsely accused and imprisoned for the rape of Anna Maria Schmoll. Fr Weinzapfle was released, and his crimes were forgiven by Governor Whitcomb in 1845 after petitions from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, even a push from Sarah Polk, the wife of the president at the time, James K. Polk. Throughout the 30 years the building was used for the church, there were 2 priests, Father Deydier and Father Patrick Demott. In 1871, the church was sold to Charles Viele and turned into the Business Men’s Association. Assumption Catholic Perish moved to a New location on 7th St. Over the next couple of years, it would be turned into the Old Opera House, then the Grand Theater, and it is now razed for a parking garage downtown. In 1971, the parish would officially end 1971 when the new location was also razed to create room for the Civic Center. Although the church is no longer around, it laid the foundation for future perishes and helped develop a large and influential catholic community in Evansville

Old Assumption Catholic Church was the first catholic church in Evansville and one of the oldest of all denominations. It was founded by Rev. Father Anthoney Deydier, a French man working in Vincennes. Father Deydier took many trips east to New England to raise funds for the church since Evansville had not yet fully developed as a city. Once enough funds were raised (nearly $1,200), the cornerstone was laid, and the church opened in 1841. After 30 years, the church was sold to Mr. Charles Viele in 1871 for about $52,000 and was soon turned into a temperance hall, and the parish would move to the new location on 7th and Sycamore Street. In 1889, it was razed, and in its place, the BMA or Business Men’s Association. Now stands the Fith-Third bank parking garage, which was built in 1981.

Old Assumption Catholic Church

The Holy Trinity School was built beside the Holy Trinity Church on the North corner of 3rd street and Vine. The school began its building in 1865 but wasn’t officially built and opened in 1869, a full decade after the original church was built. The school was an obvious Catholic school and primarily taught the schools theology. The private religious churches during this time did not have strict guidelines on the curriculum. The teachers were nuns and training priests, the principles were priests.	The school stood tall for just under 100 years. The beautiful, angelic school improved the attraction of the catholic church. The school had a waiting list and approval to join between 1890-1930. The church took special interest in who would attend the school and their background going into the church. The German American population in Evansville made up most of the percentage of participants. 	The original school sat as a two room shack next to the church between 1852-1863. The school then served as a place of worship after the church fire in 1950, awaiting the repairs. Once the church was no longer needed for the school, the city left the school as storage until it was razed in February 1958. The city used the open lot and turned it into a parking lot. The current Holy Trinity Church sits where the previous church was leaving the previous school grounds is the church parking lot.

The Holy Trinity School was the children's catholic school stemming from the Holy Trinity Church that sat directly next to the school. The school was an obvious catholic school and was exclusive to the catholic church goers of the Holy Trinity Church group. The population first branched off of the German American population in Evansville. The school was built in 1869, close to a decade after the church was built. Once the fire of 1950 took the church out of order the school was used as a place of worship until 1958 when the two were both razed, and the new Holy Trinity Church was built in the place of both. The corner in which the school had previously sat is now the current location of the Holy Trinity Church parking lot.

Holy Trinity School

The Holy Trinity Church was a branch off of the Assumption Church. The Assumption church was home to German speaking catholic immigrants and their families, but due to the destruction of the church in order to build the new civic center many churches saw it was their time to branch off and begin their own. The Holy Trinity Church branched off and began building the beautiful church in 1848 and was officially established in 1849. It wasn’t until 1851 the church was finally up and open to the public. This extremely gorgeous church was known as being the most angelic church in Evansville, and brough many people in from all over to witness its beauty.	The Holy Trinity Church and school were built directly beside each other. The city would use Birdseye’s photos of the downtown area to bring more people into the town to visit or stay and in many cases the city would include photos of the church as an appeal. The church was taller than the courthouse and after its remodel in 1873, the outside looked even more appealing. The landscape outside was done by the church and worked on by the congregation and church employees rather than the city. Postcards were made up of the church and school and were plastered everywhere.	The Holy Trinity Church, in its prime, was the oldest church standing and had the largest congregation in Evansville. The congregation began getting so large and the people were coming in from different backgrounds that by 1930’s the German speaking part had fallen out and was mostly consisted of English-speaking people. Although this was a part of how they were founded many did not stray but rather opened their doors and welcomed the new members. The church then moved their mass schedule to accommodate all members: Sundays were at 7:30 and 10:30, Holy Days were at 7:30, 12:05, and 5:10, weekdays were at 7:30, and 12:05, and Saturdays were only at 5:10 in the evening. These new hours and schedules brought the average total of members to 103 families and total parishioners to 312.	The Holy Trinity Church sat on 219 North West 3rd Street, in Evansville, Indiana, 47708. Until the church fire in 1950. In 1950 the church was struck by lightning and caught fire. After the fire to the building the church remained closed until 1965 when the building was officially razed and destroyed. A new building went into space, which is the one we can see today. The new building is much smaller and has a very different appeal to it but still remains popular to the public

The Holy Trinity Church is the remaining branch of the Old Assumption Church from the mid 19th century. The Holy Trinity Church was built in 1848 but was officially established in 1849 and opened its doors in 1851 to the public for first mass. The church was established on the basis of the previous church goers who was a large part of the German American population in Evansville. The church was a large attraction for the city of Evansville and the beautiful structure stood tall and angelic unit the fire of 1950. After 100 years the church was torn down and another structure took its place to be what we can see now, Holy Trinity Church of Evansville.

Holy Trinity Church

The German Methodist Episcopal Church was first established on November 10th, 1876. But before this they were in a different location closer to the river in downtown Evansville in 1846. In 1917 they changed their name to 4th ME German Church due to location change. Then about 20 years later, German ME Church leaves and combines with Bayard Park ME. The last church service was on Palm Sunday on March 1937. Approximately one year later Bayard Park ME and German ME Church gets reformed into the courthouse annex of Evansville.

German Methodist Episcopal Church

Father McDermott took over as the priest for the parish after Father Anthony Deydier (who founded the original church) retired in 18 blah. Initially, the church did not have its iconic tower on the front; it was added ten years later, in 1895, to complete the total look. In 1944, when the diocese of Evansville was created, Assumption Parish became the cathedral. At this point, bishop Henry J. Grimmelsman became the first bishop of Evansville. He was also the only bishop to minister in the Assumption Church before it was razed in 1965. The decision to tear down the historical church was not made without loud backlash from the public. Many wanted to preserve its historical place downtown and believed that tearing it down would erase history from the city. However, as Bishop Grimmelsman stated in the last sermon, the church was beyond repair and could never be restored to its former glory. The church, however, did not go down without a fight. It took nearly 60 days to use the metal ball method to raze the church. Although the tower was a later addition to the front of the church, it was the most challenging part to tear down. New Assumption Church embodied and amplified the rich history of the previous building while also bringing new people to the parish and the faith. It served downtown Evansville until it was physically impossible to. Now, in its place is the Evansville Civic Center, which holds all of the city offices for the Evansville Police Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office.

New Assumption Catholic Church was built in 1871 and became the offical church of Assumption Catholic parish moving from the old location. The new building was founded by Father Patrick McDermott and Father Roman Weinzapfle after the old church was growing old and they needed upgrade the capacity to fit the growing demand. The church functioned as normal for almost 100 years up until it was razed in 1965 for the building of the civic center.

Assumption Catholic Church

In the late 1800s, German immigrants were moving and settling into the Evansville area near the Ohio River. At this time, there were two churches that were already in existence. Those two churches were the Holy Trinity and Assumption churches. Both of those churches were getting full, so they decided to build St. Mary’s Catholic Church in 1867. The first mass was held on December 21, 1867.Ludwick Reidinger was the architect who designed and built St. Mary’s Catholic Church. He used a gothic style in his design plans. The church’s design has beautiful stained-glass windows along with the outside facade pointing upward, this keeps with the tradition of moving up toward heaven.  Father John Viefhaus was appointed to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in 1866. During the 26 years he spent there, the church purchased five lots and built two schoolhouses. They also built a rectory for the pastor to live in.In 1937, during the depression, there was a fire that was caused by faulty wiring but didn't destroy the structure of the church, however, they decided to rebuild. When they rebuilt, they made the sanctuary bigger and more beautiful stained-glass windows were put in place. The stained-glass windows are telling the story of the life and death of Christ.

Built in 1867 on Cherry Street in downtown Evansville. It is known as being the oldest catholic building in Evansville. The design was based on gothic architecture. There is one tall tower on top of the church that resembles moving up towards heaven. It was built along the river due to the growing immigrant communities.

St. Mary's Catholic Church

In 1866, a two-story catholic school was built. This school was built for children in the area but after the church population grew, they felt the need to build another church. It was stated that this served as the temporary church until the actual church was built in 1867.     In 1871, the church decided to build another brick building on their property. This would be a three-story building that would be the school building for their female students. It would also be where the sisters would stay. They kept the male students in the older building. By 1880, they had approximately 400 students attending their school.  Many changes took place over the years as well as remodeling due to fire, flood, and outdated buildings. The flood occurred in 1937 throughout Evansville, Indiana. Some of the changes were adding stained glass windows, adding a pastoral residence, and the sanctuary was made larger. These changes only added to the beauty of the church. Enrollment started to decline due to families wanting their children to attend public schools for the activities and opportunities. Since enrollment was down, they decided to close the doors in 1973. Since the closure, the building has been remodeled to house offices, library, and a food pantry. The building is now called the Ministry Center.

The school was built in 1866 before the Catholic Church. It was the temporary chapel before the church was complete. It then became a boys’ school when a new school was built in 1871 and had completely closed its doors in 1970. Several students had been regularly attending the school during this time.

St. Mary's Catholic School

Around 1870, the African American population was growing in the Evansville area due to former slaves crossing the Ohio River. These former slaves were looking for a better life for themselves and their families. Liberty Baptist Church was the first church to provide religious services to the African American population.The Liberty Baptist Church was in the downtown Evansville area which was the primary moving spot for previously enslaved people. Due to growing African American population in the area and the need for churches, the area surrounding the Liberty Baptist Church became known as Baptisttown. Baptisttown started to thrive as they built their own schools, churches, clubs, hospitals and stores.Baptisttown residents built their own churches and schools in search of a better life. The Gothic style church was built in 1865 but was then destroyed by a tornado in 1886. The people in this community decided to rebuild the church and it still stands today.Liberty Baptist provided former slaves with leadership in the religious, social and political life of Evansville's black community. Liberty Baptist also sponsored apartments for the black community right next to the church. These 54 unit complex apartments are called Liberty Terrace and were completed in the early 1980s. These apartments were set up for the elderly and handicap people.

Built in 1880 on the corner of Oak Street and 7th Street in downtown Evansville. In 1886 a tornado destroyed the church, but they rebuilt it, and it was completed in 1887. In 1959, they decided to add an education wing to the church. The church has a Gothic style and provides services to former slaves in the Evansville area. Liberty Baptist is the oldest black congregation in Evansville.

Historic Churches of Downtown Evansville

Salem Evangelical Church

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources