A Bethlehem Built by Poverty

April 23

2014

A brief look into the historical significance of the Log Cabin College in Perry County, Mo. What began as a sign of unity and hope in Christ for the Saxon emigrants to America in 1839 continues today as a Beacon of the Light from Above for generations of Lutherans throughout the world. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." – John 8:12

A 175th Anniversary Study of the Log Cabin College in Perry County, MO. by James. M. Thomas, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO.

Few words better describe the early beginnings of the little log cabin in Perry County,

Missouri more clearly than impoverished but faithful. It would be difficult for anyone to imagine

that from these humble roots, one of the finest seminaries in the world would make its ultimate

appearance, especially those living and working in the new Saxon colonies around Altenburg,

MO. in 1839.

Scarcity and day-to-day, tribulation was a way of life among the early settlers in Perry

CO. and the founders, students, and supporters of the new Log Cabin College were no different.

Yet in that scarcity, something genuine and true was kindled, an unwavering faith, and a desire

not only to survive, but to return thanks to their Creator through the education of the people.

When describing the poverty and trials among the Saxon people, no exaggeration or

embellishment is necessary to make the story more dramatic. To fully appreciate the Log Cabin

College, one must be made aware of the setting in which it dwelled. The poverty in which the

Saxons were living cannot simply be thought about in our modern context of low income

housing or government-assisted entitlements via food stamps or welfare programs. Consider

this report from a St. Louis newspaper on June 15, 1839:

“News of a deplorable character is reaching from the “old Lutheran” settlement in Perry Co. Mo. The greater part of the immigrants are still without shelter; 150 people are huddled together in a shed which is no protection against storm or rain. Their property is soaked through with moisture, and they themselves frequently have no dry clothes for days in succession. Diseases are making their appearance and some patients are believed to be past recovery. Withal, there is no leadership and

2 | P a g e

no means to keep the crowds of people employed. They tried to put together log houses, but they lacked the draught animals to haul the logs.

They tried to pull the logs by man power, but gave up the attempt without building a single house. Then, at this season of the year, they tried to clear the forest. On account of the heat and humidity those who made the attempt were prostrated. Only eighty acres of land are under cultivation. Money is becoming scarce; how shall these unfortunate ones be fed? There is much despondency on every hand. Of the 500 persons some are dwelling in farmhouses, by far the greater number in tents or in open sheds or under shelters made of branches and foliage. The families live on rations mostly limited to rice and bacon.”1

Unaccustomed to Missouri’s climate, these new settlers were overcome with fevers and

disease. These fevers caused horrible devastation and usually ended in death. Small-pox,

measles, mumps, wooping cough, the flux and cholera also ran rampant.

Faced with these devistating challenges, the Saxons continued, clinging to their faith as

their guide. Although making it through each day must have been a struggle beyond

immagination, God had not forsaken them and through the mercy and compassion of their

neighbors, they began to adjust to life in the wilds of southeastern Missouri.

In many ways, however, the Saxons’ spiritual troubles were even harder to bear then

their physical ones. Both pastors and people were filled with fears and uncertainities. Did we

1 Polack, W. G.. "Trials and Tribulations." In Fathers and founders,. St. Louis, Mo.: Concordia Pub. House, 1938. 30.

3 | P a g e

put too much trust in ourselves? Are we still a church? Do we still have actual pastors in our

midst who are able to deliver the Word and Sacraments to us faithfully?

Some Saxons stopped going to divine services out of fear. Many simply wanted to return

to their homeland even though this was not to be a reality since funds in general were all but

depleted. So great was the uncertainity that one pastor, Rev. E.M. Buerger, would resign his

office altogether.

To whom do you look in troubling and uncertain times such as these? Who else, but a

5’4 green pastor with the most unthreatening demeanor a man could entertain, their

trustworthy shepherd C.F.W. Walther, the young man responsible for delivering charges against

the now deposed Martin Stephan due to his sexual misconduct and embezellment.

In the months that followed, things began to turn around for the Saxons. In a letter

dated September 30, 1839, Rev. G.H. Loeber, one or the Saxon’s first called pastors in Perry

County, reported that he had received sixteen new members from the Reformed Church into

his congregation.

Meanwhile the founding members of a Log Cabin College were beginning to take shape,

and in late summer of 1839, the German newspaper in St. Louis, the Anzeiger des Westens

(Gazette of the West,) was asked by O.H. Walther, C.F.W. Walther’s brother at Trinity in St.

Louis, to carry the following notice for $1.00 a month, on a 1-year contract:

“We, the undersigned, intend to establish an institution of instruction and education, which distinguishes itself from ordinary elementary schools especially by this, that it comprises,

4 | P a g e

besides the ordinary branches, all Gymnasium branches necessary to a true Christian and scientific education, as: Religion, the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, German, French, and English languages, History, Geography, Mathematics, Physics, Natural History, Elementary Philosophy, Music, Drawing. The pupils of our instiutution are to be so far advanced in the above named studies that they, after absolving a complete course of study, shall be qualified for university studies… Instruction are to begin, God willing, on the 1st day of October of this year.

The settlement of the German Lutherans in Perry CO., near the Obrazo, Aug. 13, 1839”2

The people reading this advertisment in St. Louis must have been dumbfounded and in

shock since only weeks earlier they had been reading headlines of the Saxons’ miserable

destitution and extreme poverty. Why would a starving and dying people be focused on

building a log cabin to educate people? Why don’t they have their priorities in the right place?

How can this be?

My answer would simply be this, although the Log Cabin College’s founding fathers were

certainly concerned with food for the body, they were even more concerned with food for the

soul and with placing their complete trust in the Lord. Walther had opened the people’s eyes to

a magnificent vision for the Saxon future and had animated the hearts of the men who are

today considered to be the founders of our Concordias.

2 Polack, W. G.. "Trials and Tribulations." In Fathers and founders,. St. Louis, Mo.: Concordia Pub. House, 1938. 33.

5 | P a g e

With the help of several members of the congregation, Walther and three theological

candidates: Johann F. Buenger, Ottomar Furbringer, and Theodor Brohm, set to work building a

college in the forest. Naturally, it had to be a log cabin due to its surroundings and the

availibility of building material. So they set to work clearing the ground, felling trees, dragging

them to the clearing, dressing them to the required size, and erecting the main parts of the

building itself.

Walther mentions these times in his writing of Life of J.F Buenger,

“It was Buenger who outdid all the others…Buenger dug the still existing (at the time of

writing, 1882) college well with his own hand all alone. When the little log cabin at last stood

completed and was dedicated, there was a joy the depth of which only he could have fully

realized who had once shared it.” (Polack 34)

And so it was, that a one-room log cabin 16 ft. X 21 ft., with three windows and a door

was built in Dresden, Mo. on a 6 acre plot that had been purchaed by Buenger, Fuerbringer,

Brohm and Walther.3

Nearby, another cabin was also built that housed the Von Wurmb family. “Based on the

rather young age of the von Wurmb children, who were probably attending the Log Cabin

College mainly because of convenience, they certainly would not have been capable yet to

handle the rigors of the gymnasium curriculum. However, the teachers must have been willing

to accommodate them along with the other students there. It has been noted that Mrs.

3 Meyer, Carl Stamm. "Poverty Its Birthright." In Log Cabin to Luther Tower. St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1965.

6 | P a g e

Johanna von Wurmb also provided her services as a cook for the students when school was in

session.”4

In terms of support and financial capacity, Walther himself received only a small portion

of money from his pastoral duties in Dresden. The other three were merely candidates of

theology, and had no call or immediate means of support except their share of the

Emigrantenkass (emigration fund) because of their clerical connection to the outcast Martin

Stephan. This was certainly a sacrifice for these men, but it was a burden they took on gladly.

Facing overwhelming challenges to their mind, body, and spirit, they came together in a

endeavor to educate the people living in this seemingly unsympathetic new world and to begin

the task of formal education, an undertaking that can only be seen as an example of the utmost

faith in the lives of a tested people and in their God’s divine presence.

At about the same time the founders were placing the ad in the Anzeiger des

Westens, Furbringer was informing his friend, Professor Delitzsch in Germany, that they had

plans for starting a Gymnasium in Perry County, but would eventually seek to broaden the

scope of the institution by making it a full university and theological seminary. “From

Furbringer’s description it is doubtful that the training of ministers was at that time a primary

objective of the institution’s founders. He also urged Delitzsch to accept a professorship in the

proposed Gymnasium but unfortunately could offer his friend no salary.” 5

4 Schmidt, Warren. "A Study of the Inaugural 1839-1840.” Class of the Log Cabin College in Dresden, MO." Unpublished Manuscript, 3rd Biennial Immigration Conference from Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum, Altenburg, Mo., October 23, 2014.5 Forster, Walter O.. "Disorganization and Reorganization." In Zion on the Mississippi: the settlement of the Saxon Lutherans in Missouri, 1839-1841. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953. 503.

7 | P a g e

Even with all of the excitement in the air, the school was rendered useless until

sufficient funds could be acquired for its completion; Work would be suspended until $35.50 in

donations came through from the Saxons living in St. Louis. These donations made it possible to

complete the cabin itself, which had reportedly been dedicated in October 1839 (The exact

date is unknown.)

In spite of Buenger’s optimism, Rev. Loeber was unable to officially open the college

until December 9, 1839. There is speculation regarding how many students were originally

enrolled at the college but, according to William Forster’s “Zion on the Mississippi,” the first

students enrolled were Franz Julius Biltz (14), Johann Andrew Friedrich Wilhelm Mueller (14),

Christoph Heinrich Loeber (11) , Herman Wilhelm Buenger (14), Theodor Schubert (10),

Theobald von Wurmb (7), and one American boy named Columbus Price (25).

Four girls were also admitted to the college at that time. The college was not originally

intended to be coeducational, but, limited educational opportunities in the area made it

necessary for girls to be accepted. During its first few years, the college was attended by Lydia

Buenger (12), Martha Loeber (9), Maria von Wurmb (9) and Caroline Sarah von Wurmb (5).

In a letter of thanks written to the Saxon benefactors in St. Louis on November 19,

1839, Buenger wrote from the “Luther College near Wittenberg” that he and several others

were living in the small 1 1/2 story cabin, that the building was “adequate and comfortable”

and that classes would begin no later than December 1. 6

6 J.F Bunger to “friends in St. Louis” Nov. 19, 1839, MS. C.H.I.; “J.S.,” “Unsere Synode,” Der Lutheraner, LXXIV, 161

8 | P a g e

Although the log cabin might have been “adequate and comfortable” according to

Buenger, Reverand Loeber’s sister Christiane, who had made it her personal mission to attend

to the needs of the students and support the Log Cabin College in any way she could, revealed

her true thoughts on what life was really like for some of those first students living in the cabin.

It was a reality much worse than living in today’s living quarters here on Concordia Seminary’s

campus.

Christiane Loeber writes: “During the first winters, as the cabin was badly built, and still

worse roofed, the rain and snow would penetrate through the innumerable openings of the roof

and some morning’s buffalo robes and blankets under which the inmates (students) were

peacefully slumbering would be found covered with snow.”7

The opening of the college must have been seen as a substantial indication to the

people that the Lord had not forsaken them. Whatever the tiny little cabin lacked in size and

luxury, it made up for in hope and determination. Another sign would be the forthcoming

Altenburg Debate in April, 1841, whose location itself is a matter of sizeable debate as well.

History just wouldn’t be the same without a good controversy, would it?

With growing unrest in the community, the Altenburg Debate was arranged by pastors

Walther, Keyl and Loeber, to quiet the minds of the people on the question of “Are we a Church

of God or only simply a gathering of people?” The opposition leader was Dr. Adolph Marbach,

an attorney who believed that the colony, by leaving the Saxon State Church, had not only

sinned but also had ceased to be a true Christian church. He asserted that the people should

7 Christine Loeber, quoted in Keinath, Documents Illustrating the History of the Lutheran Church in America, 17.

9 | P a g e

acknowledge their sin and return to Germany in order to repair the damage brought on by their

emigration.

It would be Walther who would emerge victorious, winning the hearts and minds of the

people and establishing himself as a new leader in the colony. Walther based his arguments

solely on Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. He was so convincing that even his

opponents, who admitted defeat, began to witness to those around them that Christ was

indeed among them, that their pastors were rightly called, and that their official acts were valid

in the eyes of God.

In January 1841, C.F.W Walther’s brother Hermann Walther, who was still serving at

Trinity in St. Louis, passed away. C.F.W. was called to take his place. He accepted the call and

left for St. Louis the day after the Altenburg Debate.

“Although small and at times on the verge of collapse, the Log College gave

congregations and pastors a common objective “That the growth of a church is dependant,

under God, upon the type of minister which the Church itself educates and trains” derived from

Lutheran doctrine of the means of grace and tenaciously defended by every Saxon pastor.8 In

fact, during its first 8 years, this new Log Cabin College was largely funded by the Trinity

congregation in St. Louis.

8 Mundinger, Carl Solomon. "Organization of the Missouri Synod." In Government in the Missouri Synod; the genesis of decentralized government in the Missouri synod.. Saint Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1947. 166.

10 | P a g e

Much information can be gleaned by scanning Trinity’s congregational minutes

recorded between 1843 and 1847. “The college tended to tie the pastors and congregations

together.” (Mundinger. 167)

There was no denying that the Log Cabin offered a sense of pride for both groups of

Saxons in Missouri. Also apparent in Trinity’s minutes were the beginnings of conversation

regarding funding for the college and the movement of the school from Perry County to St.

Louis. One by one, the four instructors at the school began to move on to other calls. For a

while Brohm carried on the work by himself until he too left the college in May of 1843.

The humble yet symbolic little cabin was at a crossroads. An ambassador was needed

and a layman from St. Louis, would answer the call, his name was Mr. Ahner. Ahner encouraged

the congregations in St. Louis to come to the school’s rescue. With the attention of Walther and

the congregations in St. Louis, the little Log Cabin College would be the topic of much

conversation in the coming days.

On June 22, 1843, the congregation in St. Louis held the first of multiple meetings to

discuss the affairs of the college. Present for this meeting were Rev. Messrs, Loeber and C.F.

Gruber, both of Perry County, Fuerbringer from Elkhorn Prairie; and G.A. Schieferdecker of

Wartburg, Il.

These men came to discuss not only the college, but also, at the personal invitation of

C.F.W. Walther, to discuss the Hirtenbrief sent from J.A.A. Grabau. (Meyer. 8)

11 | P a g e

For 3 years and 7 months, the College had relied almost exclusively on the voluntary,

unpaid services of a half-dozen devoted men. Finally, after several meetings among the

congregations in St. Louis and with the cooperation of the congregation in Altenburg, a

reorganization of the tiny school took place. On September 4, 1843, the Trinity minutes

recorded that two letters from Rev. Loeber regarding the college were read to the voters.

The congregations in Perry County were ready to receive Candidate Johann Jakob

Goenner as the principal teacher of the college. But wait, not so fast! A very important question

arose involving the doctrine of the call:

“From the outset the Missourians had laid great stress on the activity of calling pastors.

On the basis of the priesthood of all believers the right to exercise the functions of the

priesthood is potentially in every Christian. He relinquishes this right temporarily and transfers it

when he joins other Christians in calling a man to perform the services of a Pastor publicly.”

(Mundinger. 167)

From what the minutes themselves reveal, there also appears to be a question

regarding who could actually “call” Goenner? Trinity in St Louis? The congregation in

Altenburg? Should an individual call him? No one had clarity regarding the basic theological

principles in the question of the call to a ministry within the church. It seems that the motive

for asking was more or less financial. Whomever called Goenner to the college would also be

obligated to pay his salary. Fearing that an individual congregation calling Goenner, might imply

full liability for his entire salary, suggestion was brought forth that he be called by a group of

individuals.

12 | P a g e

These details buried in the minutes of Trinity’s congregational records actually made me

grin for two reasons: (1) We’re all human and we don’t always have the answers (even the

founders of our Synod). And (2) everyone is eager and enthusiastic to get the ball rolling until

the bill comes in. As the old saying goes, “The spirit is willing but the wallet is weak.” Everyone,

was in dissagreement on the matter or “Misshelligkeit” as the church secretary called it.

The principle that the education and training of future pastors was the duty of the

congregations was upheld. Goenner’s call was eventually clarified and according to Pastor

Loeber, the congregation in St. Louis extended the call and stipulated a definite salary. On June

26, 1843, the congregation decided on a contribution of $7.00 for maintenance of the college.

3 days later the monthly salary for Candidate Goenner was set at $5.00 and he began

instruction at the college on July 1, 1843. It is assumed that the congregations in Perry County

picked up the difference for Goenner’s salary.

Although the salary was modest, it established a source for continued education at the

College. The congregation in Perry County would provided him with a place to live, wood and

food. Goenner would remain as the school’s principal until 1861.

A secondary and equally important resolution was made on that same day. It was

decided that the school would stress the instruction in languages for the training of future

Lutheran pastors and teachers. “This resolution recognized that the functions of the school were

reorientated when placed under Loeber’s care. It was now to be a preparatory school for those

entering the service of the church instead of being a prepratory school for those wishing to enter

the university.” (Mundinger. 9)

13 | P a g e

A change in focus is evident as seen in the wording of the resolution itself, which stated

they were establishing a new school rather than continuing the present one. The third and final

resolution stated that the school in Perry CO. was to be temporary. Making the college a

Gemeindesache (community thing) was a cornerstone for expansion.

After being in America for over 4 years, the immigrants recognized with clear vision the

need for maintaining a school of higher learning even though they were not banded as a synod.

But questions still remained as to where the school should be located. The secretary of the

meeting recorded this sentiment: “It might well be desired that the institution be transferred to

St. Louis, so that it might avail itself of the advantages of this large city; the impossibility of

carrying out this plan, however, was recognized.”9

For the next several years the roster of students remained largely unchanged.

Somewhere between six and eight students can be identified. These young men had their

vocational minds made up. They wanted to be pastors. Back in St. Louis, on August 12, 1847,

following a synodical convention concerning the college, Pastor Walther asked the

congregation whether or not they would be willing to give the college to the Synod. Finally after

much discussion, a resolution was passed to give the college to the Synod provided it be moved

to St. Louis.

Finally came a proud day for all involved. On October 7, 1847, the first graduate of the

Log Cabin College, J.A.F. Mueller passed his examination and was dismissed from the school. At

14 years old, Mueller had been among the first students on opening day in December 1839.

9 “Transcripts of Minutes of Trinity Congregation, St. Louis, 1843-53, “p. 211, minutes of 22 June 1843.

14 | P a g e

Two other men from that same group would eventually graduate: Franz Julius Biltz and

Christoph H. Loeber. Biltz would go on to become the President of the Western District of the

LCMS, and Loeber would become the director of Concordia College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The fourth graduate was Heinrich Wunder, a pioneer Lutheran pastor in Chicago who

was instrumental in the founding of the Missouri Synod in the Chicago area and who served as

the first President of the Illinois District. Last but not least was C.H.R. Lange, who bacame a

professor of English and philosophy at Concordia College and Seminary in St. Louis from 1858 to

1861.10

Over a 10 year span, this humble Log Cabin College saw many changes in the Lutheran

Church, including the formation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod itself. In a fashion

matching its physical size, it graduated only five men during that time. Talk of moving the

seminary was continuing to stir, an inconcievable idea to the Saxons in Altenburg. The Log

Cabin College was a source of great pride, they wanted it to remain in their care.

The Altenburg congregation petitioned the third synodical convention in 1849 that the

institution stay in Perry County.11 Loeber, one of the college’s most adamant supporters would

not attend the convention since he simply could not vote for a transfer to St. Louis; he prefered

to let the matter rest in the hands of God.12 The Synod decided that classes be moved to St.

Louis, a decision that the congregation in Altenburg accepted with a heavy heart.

10 Caemmerer, Richard R., and Alfred Ottomar Fuerbringer. "The Changing Target of the Pastorate." In Toward a More Excellent Ministry. Saint Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1964. 47- 48.11 Mo. Synod, Proceedings, 1849, p. 10, 11 (reprint ed., p.84). 12 G.H. Loeber to Theodor Brohm, 4 June 1849, MS, CHI, Loeber papers, copy made by G.H. A Loeber.

15 | P a g e

The Perry County chapter of the college came to an end after 10 years of faithful service.

The “college” arrived in St. Louis on December 16, 1849, with 9 students and their teacher, J.J.

Goenner; a few books; and a collection of instructional materials. The Mississippi River was

filled with ice floes as they made their way from Wittenberg to St. Louis over two bitterly cold

days. Upon arrival in St. Louis, the building in which they were to be housed had not yet been

erected. For the first several weeks they would be housed by members of the St. Louis

congregation. On January 9, 1850, they finally moved into one unit of a larger building that

stood for a 30-year span as the home of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.13

During its use, the tiny log structure sometimes found itself on the move. Around 1842,

the Log Cabin College was moved roughly a mile or so, from Dresden to Altenburg, near the

Loeber parsonage. It was moved the first time to Altenburg in an effort to help Pastor Loeber,

who was overworked and in failing health.14 It is known from several personal accounts that

the cabin was most likely dismantled and rebuilt; as the numbering system used to put it back

together properly is still visible. After Loeber’s death in 1849, the cabin was occupied by

Gottlieb Funke and his family for several years.

The cabin was again moved in 1912 from its location near the parsonage to its current

resting place in Log College Park across from Trinity in Altenburg. This time the cabin was

moved on rollers by a team of horses and several volunteers. These rollers are still around

today and are currently on exhibit at the Lutheran Heritage Museum in Altenburg, MO. Here at

13 R.A. Sueflow, “The History of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, 1847-1865,” CHI Quarterly, XXIV (July 1951), 56.14 Jordan, Carla. Interview by author. Personal interview. Altenburg, Mo., March 15, 2014.

16 | P a g e

its final resting place, the cabin was set on a concrete foundation, and a modern roof has been

positioned over the structure itself for protection from the elements.

Ok, now to the controversial issues I mentioned previously surrounding the location of

the Altenburg Debate and the movement of the college itself. In doing my research, I came

across a fairly obscure piece of documentation online from the Missouri Department of Natural

Resources. It was a nomination request application to place the log cabin structure on the

Registry of National Historic Places with the U.S. Department of the Interior around the year

1974. In describing the significance of the log cabin and any alterations over the years it has

this to say:

“The cabin has undergone relatively few alterations. It has been moved

at least once, perhaps twice. The first time, if it could be agreed upon

(refer to Item 8), in 1840-1841 from Dresden to Altenburg--a distance of

approximately one mile, in order to be closer to Pastor Loeber's parsonage;

the second time in 1912 when it was transported from there a few hundred yards

to where it presently stands in the church grove of Trinity Lutheran Church in

Altenburg.

“If it can be agreed upon?” This kind of language had my mind wondering. I scrolled to Item 8

as indicated by the report; “item 8,” speaks about the location of the Altenburg Debate and

the situation concerning the movement of the Log Cabin College. It has this to say:

“Tradition holds that the setting for these momentous debates was the

Concordia Log Cabin College. Contemporary accounts do not bolster this

tradition, however, because none of them refer specifically to where the

debates were held. It is not until 1885 that Christian Hochsetter wrote in a

history of the synod that the debates took place in the newly constructed

17 | P a g e

college log cabin before many hearers. He does not document this statement,

but eyewitnesses, including Walther himself, were still alive to take issue

were it not true; no objection has been recorded.”

Then the application brings up another questionable situation:

“There is another factor which obscures the question, for the period of the

Altenburg Debates--1840-1843--saw an event occur which has been the source of

controversy: the moving of the college from Dresden to Altenburg. The

traditional view is that Theodor Brohm was the principal instructor at the

college until a serious illness curtailed his activities, leaving Pastor

Loeber the only one left to instruct. The other candidates had, one after

another, accepted calls to other locations.

Pastor Loeber was in poor health himself, so the college was dismantled and

reconstructed on a site near his parsonage in Altenburg to spare him the

strain of the daily trip to Dresden.”

The application continues to unravel these issues and even provides some insight:

“Around the time of the centennial of the immigration in 1939, a challenge to

this interpretation was presented. The dispute was over whether the building

had actually been moved, or simply abandoned in favor of a cabin already

standing in Altenburg which had been vacated by the recent death of Pastor

Loeber's sister, Christiane Loeber. “Sentiment in Altenburg, as expressed by

the Lutheran Historical Society of Perry County was and is based on the

conviction that there is but one log cabin college.

The application also makes note of an “earliest known woodcut” depicting a different looking

cabin from the one present in Altenburg and offers this explanation:

“The woodcut was executed prior to 1841 and portrays a cabin with a two bay

plan on the entrance facade, a door and a window. There is no window on the

18 | P a g e

entrance facade of the Altenburg cabin. There is also the testimony of other

respected elderly men who recalled playing in the Dresden cabin on its

original site as children or on the logs of this cabin after it had been

dismantled in the 1860's.”

Then we find out about yet another point of contention in all this. The application continues:

“The issue is further confused by references in the correspondence of

Pastor Loeber, and in the minutes of Trinity Church in St. Louis, whose

congregation comprised the Saxons remaining behind in that city… It is in

regard to the arrangements for Goenner's quarters in Perry County that

references occur which confuse the "one cabin" view. In taking up the question

of Goenner's housing, the minutes of the Trinity congregation call for the

‘erection’ of a college in Perry County.”

Then application then reveals that:

“In July, 1843, Loeber wrote of the local decision to house Goenner in

the cabin of his deceased sister, Christiane Loeber, which the congregation

intended to repair. Apparently, this project languished until mid-August, but

it was finally accomplished and Loeber could proclaim the "college house"

blocked. The presumption in this instance is that the Dresden cabin remained

'in situ,’ [in its natural or original position, unmoved].

The application adds:

“A letter from Loeber's brother in Germany written in 1840, five months

after Christiane's death, spoke of their sister's cabin being used as a

schoolhouse. So it is possible that the college continued functioning in that

building, and that conceivably the Altenburg Debates were held there. But if

this is the case, it is confusing to find discussion in 1843 of the need to

“erect” a college, or of Christiane Loeber's cabin having to be "repaired,

raised and improved," in order to be serviceable.”

19 | P a g e

To bring the matter to a close, the application mentions:

“There is another reference to the cabin which came later, years after

Pastor Loeber's death and the removal of the seminary to St. Louis, in the

form of a letter written in 1854 in which Loeber's son, Christoph, informed

his sister that he had had the "former College" in Altenburg auctioned off.

The implication is that the cabin had passed by inheritance through the Loeber

family from Christiane Loeber. It is difficult for the neutral observer to

conclude which theory of the origins of the Concordia Log Cabin College is

correct… The setting after that time was definitely the log cabin presently in

Altenburg.”15

Naturally, at this point, my curiosity was heightened even more. I’m reading both

sides of this controversial argument but I wanted to know more. So I decided to dig a

little deeper. In the January 1947 issue of CHI Quarterly, there is an 8 page article

entitled, “That Log Cabin in Perry County,” which purports that the structure being

preserved in Altenburg, MO. is not the original college of the LCMS but rather “private

property and used as a college for less than two years.” It further concludes that the log

cabin on Concordia’s campus is a “substantially correct replica” of the original.”16

At the invitation of the St. Louis Lutheran, the Lutheran Historical Society of Perry

County prepared this reply: “It was not our intention to reply to this article in the CHI

Quarterly. But from various parts of our Synod, we have been urged to present our side

of the controversy.”17 “So, we will give our reasons why we still believe and contend that

the log cabin at Altenburg is the original college of the Synod. The article in the Quarterly

15 "Concordia Log Cabin College Nomination Form." Missouri DNR. http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/78001671.pdf (accessed June 13, 2013).16 Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly, Volume 19:4 (January, 1947), 16017 Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly, Volume 20:2 (July, 1947), 107

20 | P a g e

states, “The Log Cabin erected in Dresden and used as a college from December, 1839,

until sometime in 1840 or 1841, was never moved from Dresden to Altenburg, but was

later used as a dwelling and dismantled about 1868.”

The Lutheran Historical Society of Perry County states that their opponents’

claims are “based on the testimonials of people who admittedly date their recollections

to a time of their life when they were five or six years of age. It will be admitted how

unreliable such testimony is; it certainly cannot be used to establish historical facts.” To

offset this testimony, we have in our files three sworn statements, which we now feel

compelled to adduce here, at least in part.

“We add that these statements were given by men whose integrity, honesty and

veracity no one who knows them would question. The first is M. Schmidt of Altenburg,

MO. who is 83 years old.”18 He says:

“I the undersigned, … here with declare that I distinctly remember our

grandmother repeatedly telling us of how grandfather spoke of helping to move the first

log cabin college of the Missouri Synod from the first to the second location; how they

dismantled the building and marked the logs with numerals in order to enable them to

replace the logs exactly as they had been before; that they moved the logs to the second

location and there reassembled them, so that the present log cabin college shown at

Altenburg, MO. is and must be the same building which our forefathers erected in 1839,

as some of the above mentioned numerals, although weather-beaten, are still visible

today. That most of these numerals can no longer be seen is explained by the fact that,

as they had been cut in the very ends of the logs, most of them have been chopped away

by souvenir hunters.”

18 Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly, Volume 20:2 (July, 1947), 108-109

21 | P a g e

“Next, is the testimony of a retired pastor, Rev. A.C. Wunderlich, who was

living in at Altenburg at the time, Wunderlich’s father had come over with the Saxons

as a young man. In a sworn statement he declares:

“Being interested in history, and especially in the history of the early Missouri

Synod, I interrogated my father at various times on the early beginning of our church

here and especially on the first college built at Altenburg by the early Saxons. He

informed me that he, as a boy, helped at the construction of the first college in Dresden.

But on account of Pastor Loeber’s physical condition it was taken down, marking all the

logs with numerals in order to fit them together again in the new location.”

The article again makes note that these numerals are still visible on the logs of

the present college at Altenburg and furnish absolute proof that this is the only and

original college built by the Saxons at Altenburg. In the 1939, No. 4 volume of the Der

Lutheraner, Dr. Theodore Buenger, who was president of Concordia College, St. Paul,

MN, described the moving of the Dresden log cabin to its second location in Altenburg.

He adds to the conversation by giving the source of his information, saying:

“As my uncle, Dr. Ernst Buenger of Altenburg repeatedly told me, who later

bought the Loeber property,” it appears that Dr. Ernst Buenger had immigrated with the

Saxons and apparently lived where he could see the men actually moving the logs. “This

testimony stands. What Dr. Buenger states is authentic history, not tradition. The

Dresden cabin was moved.”19 The response from The Lutheran Historical Society of

Perry County also mentions that the article in the CHI Quarterly quotes from a letter by

the Rev. G.H Loeber, who wrote to his brother in Germany that his health was good.

19 Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly 20:2, (July, 1947) 109

22 | P a g e

The Quarterly argues that:

“Rev. Loeber’s poor health could not have been a reason for moving the college

to a location nearer his home. The fact that Rev. Loeber was comparatively well at the

time that he wrote to his brother does not indicate that his health in general was not

poor, as we content. The late Rev. H. Wunder of Chicago, one of the first two college

students, reportedly told how pastor Loeber on a Monday morning would instruct them

while reclining on a couch because of severe nerve headache induced by his Sunday

work. This proves our contention that the cabin was moved in order to bring it within the

vicinity of Rev. Loeber’s residence. Rev. Loeber died at age 52, following a lingering

illness.”

The Lutheran Historical Society of Perry County finishes their response by adding

that the article in the Quarterly further concludes that the log cabin now in Altenburg,

originally the cabin of Miss Christiane Loeber, “was repaired in the summer of 1843 to

be used by rector Goenner as a dwelling and as a college from September 1843, to

December 1849, for a period of more than six years.”

The folks in Perry County believed that “This is merely opinion, and the writer in

the Quarterly seems to feel the weakness of this conclusion by commenting “‘The cabin

is evidently the one which is now in Altenburg…Proof is lacking.’”20

Then we come to the argument concerning the Log Cabin’s façade and whether

or not it originally had a window in front as displayed by some early woodcuts and

drawings and even as displayed here today as a replica at Concordia, St. Louis.

As for the Quarterly’s argument that:

“the log cabin that was erected in 1938 by the Concordia Historical Institute on

the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is a substantially correct replica of the

20 Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly, January, 1947), 110

23 | P a g e

original log cabin erected in 1839 at Dresden, Perry County, Missouri, we have the

contrary testimony of Theodore Kramer, an aged, highly respected member of the

congregation in Frohna, MO., and the father of three pastors and teachers in the

Missouri Synod today.

Mr. Kramer states that years ago, as he visited his grandfather, Mr. Bergt, who

had emigrated with the Saxons at the age of eighteen, he was looking at a picture of the

log cabin college in the Kinderblatt, which depicted the structure as having a window in

the front wall. ‘Did the first college really look like this?’ Mr. Kramer asked. “Nonsense!”

his grandfather had replied. “I don’t see where they got that picture. The college never

looked like that. Whoever drew that picture evidently never saw the college.

The Lutheran Historical Society of Perry County concludes its reply by saying:

“The fact that the first college was erected by Candidates Brohm and

Fuerbringer has never been disputed. Candidate Buenger dug the well to insure good

drinking water for teachers and students. Naturally, these men were not skilled in that

kind of work. The present cabin plainly shows this lack of craftsmanship compared to

other cabins built at that time by the farmers. This fact may not impress some, but it

does mean much to one who is familiar with such matters. Therefore, we maintain, and

always will maintain, that the log cabin college at Altenburg, Mo. is the original and only

college of its kind ever built by the Saxon fathers, as nothing has been written so far to

convince us of the contrary.”21

I felt like I was actually getting somewhere now and I wanted to dig even deeper,

so I contacted the Lutheran Heritage Museum in Altenburg, MO. regarding these

controversial issues spanning some 100 plus years. I didn’t get an immediate reply due

to summer vacation schedules, so I decided to drop by for a visit while traveling to see

family in the region. I arrived shortly before closing, and the director of the museum had

21 Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly, January, 1947), 110

24 | P a g e

already left for the day; however, museum assistant and local native Gerhard Fiehler

was working that afternoon and offered whatever assistance he could.

After several minutes of digging, Mr. Fiehler located some very interesting and

yellowed documents in the museum’s secret vault (a.k.a. a very old, worn-out filing

cabinet in the back room). It was a letter written by Pastor Adolph Vogel from Trinity,

Altenburg, written on September 1, 1959 in which he speaks directly about these

controversial issues as well as other little known facts “not generally known regarding

the old log cabin college at Altenburg, Missouri.” Pastor Vogel writes:

25 | P a g e

26 | P a g e

27 | P a g e

28 | P a g e

29 | P a g e

30 | P a g e

So what does all this mean? Furthermore, who really cares if the cabin was

moved or whether or not it had a window in front?

Through my research, this is the conclusion to which I have come: In terms of

the window argument, the original wood cut showing a window in the front of the

cabin, as well as the CPH drawing from the 1920s, are more than likely included as a

simple embellishment to add ornate detail to the cabin’s aesthetics, “stylized” if you

will. This was a common practice in artistic works of the day.

Also, because of the additional cost they would have incurred and lack of

suitable glass available in such a remote area, not to mention the skill required to install

such a window, a front window would seem not only unlikely, but also luxurious given

builder resources and the cabin’s geographic location.

Because of the lack of original eyewitness accounts or detailed descriptions of

the cabin itself and because the benefit of photography was not available during this

time, it is hard to reconstruct the cabin’s exact look. However, it is my firm belief that

there was no window located in front of the original log cabin itself.

In regards to the original Cabin in Dresden and its dismantlement and movement

to Altenburg, MO. this is my conclusion: With such overwhelming photographic

evidence of the cabin’s movement as well as properly documented and validated,

firsthand accounts on this very specific topic, It is my firm belief that the cabin in

Altenburg is in fact, the original block cabin built by the Saxon fathers.

31 | P a g e

While the mystique of the window or the argument surrounding its origin might

not be a flash point of theological debate in today’s Missouri Synod, these contentious

matters themselves are enough to keep even the most mild natured historian curious. If

it were up to me, I would be in favor of dismantling and reconstructing the log cabin

replica on Concordia’s campus in an effort to not confuse future generations.

For me it’s simple: When history gets changed, it sometimes gets lost. Although

dismantling and altering the cabin located on Concordia’s campus is unrealistic and

unlikely. There is true beauty in the simplicity of the Altenburg cabin that should not be

overlooked. It should not be altered or seen as something to be ashamed of. It does not

need to be stylized or embellished in any way. It reflects with great honesty and

integrity the Saxon people who sacrificed so much to create this beacon of “Light from

Above,” drawing people to their new home; a beacon that has remained faithful for

more than 175 years.

No matter what controversial issue surrounds this Log Cabin College, one thing

remains clear; this little cabin was more than a structure to educate the people and train

pastors. Although the little log cabin was functionally both of those at one time, it was

more than those individually. It is a symbol of hope and gratitude. While it may appear

scarce in grandeur, it is something genuine and true in the middle of those Southeastern

Missouri backwoods. It is a testimony to their desire, not only for survival, but also to

return thanks to God through education and a longing to share God’s Word in a new

land. It remains today as a symbol of the hopes and dreams of a people and their

earnest longing to spread the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

32 | P a g e