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Concordia College 1839 -- l939 ONCORDIA COLLEGE drew its first breath of life a hundred years ago under rather in- auspicious circumstances. Few editors of a newspaper were more amazed than the editor of the f'Anzeiger des Westens in St. Louis when he read the copy of a notice in which the Perry County Saxons were announcing the opening of a college, the first Lutheran college west of the Mississippi River. That group at the Obrazo had made the headlines before, and the German newspapers and the non-Lutherans of St. Louis followed the activi- ties of the Perry County settlement with a great deal of mirth. But there were also others who thought that the endeavor was impractical. Dr. Walther wrote thirteen years later that many of the settlers themselves considered the founding of a college ridiculous. Still others viewed the project with serious misgivings for various reasons. Thus Dr. Carl Eduard Vehse wrote in 1840 that the pro- ject was ill-timed since credit for the development of a school could not be established. No words can more fully convey the significance of this notice or more adequately state the purpose of the founders than the words of the announcement itself, which bears the date of August 13, 1839, and reads as follows: An Institution of Instruction and Education. 'fWe, the undersigned, intend to establish an in- stitution of instruction and education, which dis- tinguishes itself from ordinary elementary schools, especially by this, that it comprises, besides the ordinary branches, all 'gymnasium' sciences neces- sary to a true Christian and scientific education, as: Religion, the Latin, Greek and Hebrew, German, French and English languages, history, geography, mathematics, physics, natural history, introduction to philosophy, music, drawing. The pupils of our institution are to be so far ad- vanced in the above named studies, that they, after absolving a complete course of study, shall be qualified for university studies. 'fThe esteemed parents, who may desire to place their children with our institution, are requested to make inquiries regarding its plan and arrange- ments of Pastor O. H. Walther, in St. Louis, Poplar Street, No. 14, between First and Second Streets.- Instructions are to begin, God willing, on the first of October of this year. At the settlement of the German Lutherans in Perry County, near the Obrazo. August 13, 1839. HC. Ferd. W. Walther Th, Jul. Brohm Ottomar Fuerbringer Joh. Fr. Buenger' Yet, despite adverse opinion and jeering on the sidelines, the founding of Concordia College was begun with unabating zeal and energy. The Saxon immigrants had landed in St. Louis during the months of January and February and on April 8 less than six hundred of these purchased 4,472.66 acres in Perry County, about 105 miles south of St. Louis, after they had spurned an offer made by the Gratiot family of some of the richest land in the valley of the Merrimac River, only ten or twelve miles from St. Louis. The purchasing price was S9,234.25, and an additional 81,000.00 was paid for the Wittenberg landing. The site of the settlement was not the most ideal. The land presented many aspects of the untamed American wilderness, and as a result the first few years tested the fortitude of the settlers almost be- yond endurance. One redeeming feature was their nearness to the Mississippi, which was at that time a crowded artery of river trafiic, teeming with nu- merous river boats, Thus they were in close con- tact with the outside world. The first homes were built at Dresden. All of the pastors and candidates were staying there. The Rev. Gotthold Heinrich Loeber moved into the par- sonage at Altenburg on November 25, 1839. This large parsonage. which housed the college for a while, as we shall see later, was built largely from Loeber's own funds. The Rev. Ernst Gerhard Wil- helm Keyl, the Rev. Ernst Moritz Buerger, and the Rev. C. F. W. Walther remained in the Dresden set- tlement during the winter of 1839-40. Later this congregation and the congregation at Johannesberg were placed under the charge of Dr. Walther. So Dresden was selected as the place for the college, and six acres were procured for this purpose. The idea of founding a college emanated from the three candidates who worked under the guidance of Dr. Walther. They were Johann Friedrich Buenger, Ottomar Fuerbringer, and Theodor Julius Brohm. These three were also the first teachers-all grad- uates of the university of Leipzig. Dr. Walther also assisted in teaching as much as his ailing health permitted. He also assisted with his advice till he was called to St, Louis in 1841. Dr. Walther's elder brother, the Rev. O. H. Walther, pastor of Trinity Church in St. Louis, died on January 21, 1841. The congregation called Dr. Walther on February 8. and he accepted the call on April 26 by attending the meeting of the congregation in person. The Dresden and Johannesberg parish was now joined with the Altenburg congregation. The three candidates were the founders of Con- cordia in another real sense, they were also the builders of the first structure. While the settlers Page 7
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52-assssfff-einifzi? 1839 , filr::::'-Eimiis i rrp DDT D , W ':::.4--5:51 's .5.: '-3.-QC' were engaged in erecting their own homes and clearing their farms, these men themselves under- took the task of building, and Buenger dug the well which supplied the water. This well was still in use in 1920, and may still be in use today. Buenger's sisters also assisted by carrying clay for filling the spaces between the logs. Finally everything was ready. The physical equipment consisted of a roughly hewn log cabin, approximately 16 by 21 f e e t , W i t h three windows a n d a d o o r . The one-room interior was graced by two long benches, which rested on a fioor of tamped clay. A ladder led to the low- ceilinged attic beneath the roof. The opening date had been set for October 1, but unex- pected delays necessitated a postponement of the date. I n s t r uction was begun on December 9, 1839. Pastor O. H. Walther wrote a poem for the dedication. Dr. Walther found this poem among the effects of his brother 19 years later. DR. C. F. W. WALTHER The enrollment for the first year reached a total of ten, seven boys and three girls. Seated on the first bench were: Franz Julius Biltz, aged l41!2, later pastor at Concordia, Mo., president of the Western District, and founder of St. Paul's College at Con- cordia, Johann Andreas Friedrich Wilhelm Mueller C Chester Muellerb, aged 14, later pastor at St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Chester, Ill., vice- president of the Illinois District, and secretary of the Missouri Synod, 1860-1866, Christoph Heinrich Loeber, aged 10, son of Pastor Loeber, later suc- cessor of Pastor Keyl at Frohna and president of Concordia College, Milwaukee, Herman Buenger, aged 14, brother of candidate Buenger, later drug- gist at St. Louis, Theodore Schubert, aged 10, nephew of Dr. Walther, who died during the first school year: and Columbus Price. The second bench was assigned to Sarah von Wurmb, aged 5, niece of Pastor Loeber, who attended this institution until May, 1843, when her widowed mother married can- didate Brohm and moved to New York City, where she later married the Rev. Henry Birknerg Liddy Page 8 CONCORDIA Buenger, aged 12, who left the school with her brother, Herman Buenger, in September, 1841, and later married the Rev. Friedrich Lochnerg Maria von Wurmb, aged 9, who remained in the institu- tion for three years and four months and later mar- ried Pastor Biltz, her schoolmate, on September 23, 1849, as a result of the first college romance, and Theobald von Wurmb, aged 7, who attended the school till the summer of 1843, and later became a druggist at St. Louis. From the composition of the first student body it is apparent that co-education and a general secular education were accepted principles of the new school. Co-education may have been incidental, yet the girls could have attended the regular parish schools. Furthermore, a girl was admitted at a later date, as we shall see. All early announcements as to purpose stress the fact that the school was found- ed to safeguard the youth against un-Christian edu- cation and to prepare them for university training. Columbus Price is an enigma. He is usually called Hein Amerikaner . Little is known of him. He was the son of William Price, who lived at or near the present village of Brazeau, about six miles west of Altenburg. All of his relatives moved away from Perry County, and he was not present at the col- lege in December, 1841. The college, of course, offered no dormitory fa- cilities. Candidate Buenger, his brother Herman, and his sister Liddy lived with their widowed mother. Biltz and Loeber lived with Pastor Loeber at Altenburg. Mueller roomed with Teacher Johann Friedrich Ferdinand Winter at Altenburg, and both took meals rotating among the parishioners of Al- tenburg. Price walked or rode home each day. Brohm and Fuerbringer had their meals at the home of Mrs. Johanna von Wurmb, whose house stood near the Dresden College building and whose husband had died as missionary among the Hot- tentots of Africa. Brohm and Fuerbringer had their sleeping quarters in the attic of the college. No college can thrive without an enrollment. Boys and girls were needed for work on the home- steads. So there were no new pupils in 1840 and in 1841. The teachers were serving without a salary. and so they accepted positions in the ministry as soon as opportunities presented themselves. The death of one pupil and the departure of three left only six pupils. Buenger, therefore, accepted a call in July, 1840, as teacher at Trinity in St. Louis, where Dr. Walther followed him in 1841. In 1844 Trinity called Buenger as assistant pastor to Dr. Walther. Fuerbringer accepted a call in August, 1840. Brohm was weakened by a lingering fever, and so Pastor Loeber took the college into his home. The second floor of the parsonage was used on Sundays for religious services and during the week days housed the college. Pastor Loeber then had the log cabin taken apart and moved to Altenburg on sleds some time before the close of 1841. Two
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