Athens Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSS 2020.0010

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Materials in the collection cover a majority of Athens Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church's 300 year plus history. These are a diverse set of materials incorporating church records, books, historic materials, correspondnece, publications, maps and legal papers. Of particular note are the 113 Glebe Deed documents from the 1780's through the 1820's and other Deeds from 1744 through 1966. There is also a nearly complete run of Church Bulletins from 1929-1974 and 1977-1979 as well as the 1936-1940 correspondnece of Charles J. Hannon, an inmate at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. There is also a large collection of ledger and record books from the 19th and 20th centuries detailing church and organization records.

Dates

1704-1992

Biographical / Historical

The Athens Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded by 1703 with the arrival of its first pastor, Reverend Justus Falkner, the first man to be ordained a Lutheran Minister in what would become the United States. It is also the only Lutheran Church endowed with glebe lands. The Church has also been known as the Zion Luthernan Church and Zion Lutheran Church at Loonenburg.