On Sunday, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Springfield will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the “Laying of the Cornerstone” and the beginning of the congregation.

Although the actual event was held on Aug. 11, 1909, the church has chosen to celebrate on Trinity Sunday in June (the organizational date of the church was June 9, 1912). The public is cordially invited to the worship service at 11 a.m.  

Holy Trinity was organized by Bethel Lutheran Parish. The pastor of the parish at the time, Rev. T. W. Shealy, was concerned that Springfield did not have a Lutheran Church.

The Brinson Railroad had brought rapid growth to the area. A building committee was appointed and the plan was under way to add another church to the Bethel Parish. The courthouse of Effingham County was being built about this same time.   The church was referred to in the Springfield Herald as Lutheran Memorial and Salzburger Memorial prior to being officially named Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.  

The Springfield Herald in January 1909 stated that all material had been secured for construction of the building. They ordered 175,000 Macon bricks, which is about 15 railcar loads. The building was 75 feet in length and 45 feet wide. The main entrance was to face Laurel Street and the chancel will be at the Pine Street end. Ample money had been subscribed to complete the building. During 1910, the memorial windows had been installed. One was in the Chancel and one in what is now the center front entrance of the church.

At the time the building was built, there were corner doors opening to the sides and front of the church. Men and women entered on different sides as was the custom of the times. Parts of the original front and back windows still exist but were relocated and reconfigured due to damage from storms, church additions and the building of a central entrance.

An article in the Springfield Herald on Aug. 6, 1909, announced the program for the laying of the cornerstone on Wednesday, Aug. 11. The committee for the program published the following in the Herald: “Everybody regardless of Denomination or Creed is cordially invited to attend these services. Let everybody come. Bring dinner and remain all day. A list of the names of the subscribers to the building fund will be deposited in the corner stone.  The ladies will sell refreshments, the proceeds of which will be applied to the Church Building Fund. A donation of cream, custard, lemonade or sugar will be appreciated.”

Jackson Zipperer, the current eldest male member of Holy Trinity, said his father Thomas E. Zipperer, who was later the first secretary of the congregation, placed a gold stickpin in the cornerstone box during the ceremony. The inscription on the cornerstone reads: “Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Erected 1909 in Memory of the Salzburgers Who Settled at Ebenezer in 1734.”  

According to the Aug. 13, 1909, issue of the Springfield Herald: “The laying of the cornerstone of the Lutheran Church on Wednesday was witnessed by several thousand people. Long before the hour of the beginning of the ceremonies, people from various parts of the county could be seen coming into town to witness the exercises. Upon arrival of the Brinson Train from Savannah and other points below here, the crowd was estimated to be several hundred. Promptly at 11 o’clock the congregation was called to order by Rev. T. W. Shealy of Bethel Church and he led the exercises.”

“The laying of the Corner Stone was next in order and almost the entire throng assembled around the corner of the church where the copper box was placed in the marble stone and Contractor J. R. Tebeau cemented it in place. An intermission of one hour was then had for dinner, after which the crowd reassembled under the oaks. The services were conducted in the oak grove near the Methodist Church where seats had been provided for the entire crowd. A speaker’s stand was erected for the ministers to occupy. The music was quite a feature of the day and Miss Eva Gnann presided at the organ and the singing was by some of the best talent in the county. The ladies of the Lutheran Churches of all parts of the county, served refreshments for the benefit of the church fund. “Quite a nice sum was realized” to add to the building fund.  

“The entire day was spent by all pleasantly and profitably and all went to their homes late in the afternoon feeling that it was good they had attended.”

It seems today hard to fathom such a crowd would attend the services. Many who came were from other congregations and this was a rural agricultural community who could lay aside work for a day. St. Paul’s and Ascension Lutheran churches in Savannah donated the organ and some of the church furnishings. The railroad made the trip up to Springfield possible for many by giving a reduced round trip rate of 50 cents.  
It seems that this event was of interest to many and was quite an event back in 1909.  Damage from a storm called for repair of the church in June 1911. Although a few services were held off and on for over a year, the congregation was not formally organized until June 1912 and is still an active congregation to this day. The forefathers to whom this church was dedicated offered their industriousness and resolution and along their journey provided us the ability to worship freely.  

It is our hope that we never forget or take for granted this privilege.

The information compiled by Susan Exley of Historic Effingham Society came from the “90th Anniversary History of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church” prepared by committee members John Tebeau, Lena Nizzi, Naomi Alderman and Susan Exley. An entire history of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is available at the Effingham Museum. If you have comments, photos or information to share contact her at 754-6681 or e-mail: susanexley@historiceffinghamsociety.org