St. John's Evangelical Lutheran German Church and Cemetery, Lutheran church and cemetery near Hayes Center, Nebraska.
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran German Church is a white wooden building in Nebraska standing beside a cemetery that spans about 10 acres. The church structure was built in 1925 and features stained glass windows that were added later.
The congregation started in 1886 with a sod building before the current wooden church was built in 1925. This structure became an important gathering place for the German-speaking settlers who had moved to the area.
The gravestones in the cemetery display names and stories of generations from German-speaking families who settled across this rural region. Visitors can trace through the inscriptions how this community grew and maintained its heritage over the decades.
The building sits in a rural setting and is easy to spot from a distance, though it is located in an out-of-the-way location. Visitors should be aware that the site is now managed by the Nebraska State Historical Society and access may be limited.
The building was designed by Bill Miller and shows the distinctive architecture of rural churches on the Great Plains, with clean lines and practical design. This type of structure was directly adapted to the living conditions of the farmers who established the community.
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