Elkhart in Elkhart County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
John F. Funk (1835-1930)
Photographed By Lou Donkle, November 10, 2023
1. John F. Funk (1835-1930) Marker
Elkhart became a major center for the Mennonite church after John and Salome Funk moved here from Chicago in 1867. He was founding pastor of Prairie Street Mennonite Church at this location in 1871. His Mennonite Publishing Company connected Mennonites in North America and exercised wide influence through its books, periodicals and Sunday school materials.
In the 1870s he gave crucial assistance to 18,000 Russian Mennonite immigrants who settled on the Great Plains. Funk and people he recruited established key Mennonite Institutions, including forerunners of Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Mission Network, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Goshen College (originally the Elkhart Institute on Prairie Street).
Erected 2017 by Prairie Street Mennonite Church, Michiana Anabaptist Historians, Mennonite Historical Society, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Goshen College.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Immigration • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1867.
Location. 41° 40.521′ N, 85° 57.924′ W. Marker is in Elkhart, Indiana, in Elkhart County. Marker is at the intersection of Prairie Street and Chapman Avenue, on the right when
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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Bucklen Opera House (approx. 0.6 miles away); Elkhart Civil War Monument (approx. 0.6 miles away); Elkhart River Dam Removal (approx. 0.7 miles away); Charles Gordone (approx. ¾ mile away); Dr. Franklin L. Miles (approx. ¾ mile away); The Power of Water in Elkhart (approx. 0.8 miles away); Elkhart High School (approx. 0.8 miles away); Elkhart Carnegie Public Library (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Elkhart.
Photographed By Lou Donkle
2. Marker - Side Two
Photographed By Lou Donkle
3. Marker in front of Prairie Street entrance
Credits. This page was last revised on November 18, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 14, 2023, by Lou Donkle of Valparaiso, Indiana. This page has been viewed 39 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 14, 2023, by Lou Donkle of Valparaiso, Indiana. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Clear, daylight photos of the marker and its context. • Can you help?
