Macomb Township in Macomb County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
St. Peter Lutheran Church
Side 1
On February 20, 1882, thirty founders signed the charter of the Evangelical Lutheran St. Peter Church. They laid the cornerstone of their first church on May 29, 1882, across from the school built by their former congregation in 1877. Within the cornerstone was a letter to their descendants. It began, "We, your ancestors, once immigrated from Germany, from Mecklenburg, to this new western land America to begin a new home. We joined the Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel's Congregation in Waldenburg, since their confessions and beliefs agreed with those in our old fatherland." Pastor Friedrich Boeling dedicated the white, wooden church and cemetery on December 10, 1882. He served both congregations until Pastor Oscar Wuest became St. Peter's first resident pastor in 1887.
Side 2
By 1880 numerous Germans had settled in Macomb Township. Many of them established farms in the Clinton River Basin. Of the more than two thousand people in the township, some thirteen hundred were foreign-born or second-generation Germans. They were part of a fifty year migration that brought more than two million Germans to the United States. For more than seventy years St. Peter Lutheran Church held services in German. Monthly English services began in 1923. Although altered since its construction in 1926, the red brick school to the south has long served the congregation and community as a place for social events and meetings. In 1962 the congregation built a new four-room school on this corner of Twenty-Four Mile Road; it became the foundation for a growing church and school campus.
Erected 2021 by Michigan Historical Commission-Michigan History Center. (Marker Number L2344.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical date for this entry is February 20, 1882.
Location. 42° 41.295′ N, 82° 57.143′ W. Marker is in Macomb, Michigan, in Macomb County. It is in Macomb Township. Marker is at the intersection of Romeo Plank Road and 24 Mile Road, on the right when traveling south on Romeo Plank Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 17051 24 Mile Road, Macomb MI 48042, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. First Methodist Episcopal Church (approx. 3 miles away); Kreager Farm Outhouse (approx. 4 miles away); Shelby Township Purple Heart Memorial (approx. 4 miles away); Shelby Fractional District No. 1 Schoolhouse (approx. 4 miles away); Shelby Township Veterans Memorial (approx. 4 miles away); Shelby Township War on Terror Memorial (approx. 4 miles away); Shelby Township Defense of the Homeland Monument (approx. 4 miles away); Packard Motor Car Company / Packard Proving Grounds (approx. 4.6 miles away).
Credits. This page was last revised on September 25, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 25, 2023, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. This page has been viewed 67 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 25, 2023, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.