St. Marcus United Church of Christ
Established 1848
PAGE CONTENTS
Also known as
Community
Chronology and locations
History
Church records
Pastors
Other facts
Contact information
Sources
See also information about St. Marcus cemeteries
Deutsche Evangelische St. Markus Gemeinde
St. Marcus (or St. Mark's) German Evangelical church
St. Marcus (or St. Mark's) Evangelical and Reformed Church
St. Louis—Soulard (1843-1915)
St. Louis—Benton Park (1915-present)
Chronology and locations
1843—Members leave Holy Ghost and form German Evangelical Congregation meeting at Benton School on 6th between Locust & St. Charles; congregation forms the nucleus for both St. Marcus and St. Peter's.
1845—Two identical buildings constructed, one at Jackson (now 3rd) & Soulard (now Lafayette) as the South Church (Untere Kirche), and one at 15th (now 14th) & Carr as the North Church (Obere Kirche).
1848—The South Church and North Church become independent of each other; the South Church takes the name St. Marcus (the North Church becomes St. Peter's)
1867—New church on same site
1896—Building rebuilt after tornado
1906—Lot purchased at 2111 McNair at Russell (to present); admitted to ESNA
1915—New building, Herman J. Burgdorf, architect
St. Marcus began as the South Church (Untere Kirche) of the German Evangelical Congregation of St. Louis that had separated from Holy Ghost Church in 1843. In 1848, the South Church and the 
North Church (Obere Kirche) both became independent congregations, with the South Church taking the name St. Marcus and the North Church St. Peter’s.
The congregation razed its frame church and dedicated a new church seating 800 in 1867. The building was heavily damaged by the 1896 tornado but rebuilt. In 1906, the congregation bought a lot on the southwest corner of Russell and McNair Avenues and dedicated a new church on March 14, 1915, selling the old church to a Jewish congregation.
Schisms in the congregation led to the founding of St. Pauls Church in 1848 and Jesus Church in 1894.
When the Rev. E.H. Eilts came to St. Marcus in 1894, he became one of the first Evangelical pastors to introduce English, an innovation that divided the congregation and brought criticism from other clergymen. The language question continued to cause strife in the congregation as late as the 1920s
Records are available on microfilm in the Archives at Eden Theological Seminary and in Special Collections, St. Louis County Library Headquarters Branch (FHL film #1491823, 1503034, 1503035). Original records are located in the Archives at Eden Theological Seminary.
Some St. Marcus records are also available online.
George W. Wall, July 1843-1848
J.J. Riess, 1846-1858
Adolph Baltzer, 1847-1848
Jacob Meier, 1848-1849
W. Binner, 1849-1850
G.W. Wall, 1850-April 1867
Henry. Braschler, Fall 1867-1875
? Hoffman, May 1875-Fall 1877
John Nollau, 1877-1885
Louis Nollau, June 1885-1894
E. H. Eilts, Nov. 1894-1921
Erich E. Leibner, Dec. 1921-1949
Telfair Boesch, 1949-1980
E.H. Hiatt, 1981-1989
D.H. Beall, 1989-2000
Supply pastors, 2000-
Parochial school:
Est.as late as 1866, closed 1915.
Introduction of English:
1894
Membership:
In 1930: 590
In 2005: 80
St. Marcus United Church of Christ
2102 Russell
St. Louis, MO 63104
(314) 771-0738
Deutsche Evangelische St. Markus-Gemeinde, St. Louis, Mo., 1843-1915. St. Louis: St. Marcus German Evangelical Church, 1915.
St. Marcus Evangelical Church, Saint Louis, Missouri, Centennial Observance, October 10, 1943. St. Louis: St. Marcus Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1943.
“St. Marcus United Church of Christ, St. Louis, Missouri.” Congregational Profile, Archives at Eden Theological Seminary, 1980.
________. The German Church on the American Frontier: A Study in the Rise of religion Among the Germans of the West, Based on the History of the Evangelischer Kirchenverein des Westens (Evangelical Church Society of the West), 1840-1866. St. Louis: Eden Publishing House, 1939.
Updated September 2008. Queries, corrections and problems should be submitted to Scott Holl, Archivist at Eden.