History of St. Sebald

In July of 1852, a Lutheran "teacher's seminary" was opened in Saginaw, Michigan with Pastor G.M. Grossman from Hessia as principal.  Doctrinal differences arose and Grossmann and Pastor Johannes Deindoerfer of the Frankenhilf colony near Saginaw were advised by their overseer at Neundettelsau, Germany, Willhelm Loehe, to find a new location for the seminary.  Late in July of 1853 Deindoerfer and a member of his congregation, Mr. G. Ammann, left bound for Iowa.  Arriving in Dubuque they were advised to go to Clayton County where land was $1.25 an acre and Germans had settled there.  After a visit, they decided on the St. Sebald location.

They returned to Saginaw where 22 people decided to move to Iowa with them. At Dubuque they found they had no money, a banker in Dubuque loaned them enough for immediate needs and due to lack of money, Grossmann rented a house in Dubuque and opened Wartburg Seminary there. Deindoerfer and Ammann with thier party members came to Clayton County late in October. Deindoerfer rented a house temporarily in Elkader while Ammann bought land from the government and began to build a log house in the St Sebald area, moving in it during December. Deindoerfer found a small deserted log cabin between Ammann's home and Strawberry Point and moved his family into it. Cold weather and his family almost perished from the cold so Ammann invited them to share his home. This they did for most of that winter. During the winter, Deindoerfer with his own money bought eighty acres of land for $100 for his congregation and begin to erect a house. He moved in during the spring of 1865 before the house was completed and this building served as his home and sanctuary for his congregation until the present one was constructed in 1867.

In 1867 the present frame building was erected for $3400. It had no steeple, bell, or basement. The windows were of clear glass. The benches were handmade, and the walls were left as plastered. The altar was made of a large dry-goods box. The steeple and bell were added at the 50th anniversary in 1903. The steeple towers nearly 100 feet and the large clear-toned bell hanging in the belfry weighs almost a ton. The present pipe organ was dedicated a the 75th anniversary, and for the 100th anniversary, the basement was excavated with a new foundation.  Alex Schmidt, a member, made wooden candle sticks, a cross and missal stand for the altar and later a communion rail and credence shelf. The first evening service with electric lights was held Christmas Eve, 1943. In 1996, an addition was added to house an elevator making the church handicapped accessible.

The church was named for Saint Sebaldus, a legendary missionary to Germany. A church in Nuermberg bears the same name. Because of its location near a spring where drinking water was obtained, it became know as "St. Sebaldus am Quelle" meaning "St. Sebald by the Spring". The spring is still flowing and is located in the woods down from the northeast corner of the cemetery.  
The present parsonage was completed in 1878 and while housing many pastors with their families, has undergone redecoration and revision. During 1874-1918 part of it was used for a post office.
In 1879, a school house was built and the parish conducted a parochial school. It was enlarged in 1903. Once having stood on the west side of the cemetery, it now rests on a farm southwest of St. Sebald.

On the church lawn near the sanctuary stands a historical marker erected by the Historical Committee of the Iowa District of the American Lutheran Church in 1952. The plaque reads, "On this site St. Sebald Ev. Lutheran Church was established in 1853. In its original parsonage-church, the Ev. Lutheran Synod of Iowa was founded August 24th, 1854." The bottom of the plaque reads, "Wartburg Seminary was located two miles southwest on Seminary Hill, 1857-1874". Although Pastor Grossmann had stayed in Dubuque, there were growing financial concerns in the city, so it was thought that by having a seminary on a farm, the students could be largely self-supporting. In 1857, a farm was purchased two miles SW of St. Sebald and a two story frame building erected contained living quarters and classrooms. Today, nothing remains of the building.

Visit our basement where older pictures of the church are displayed as well as many of the confirmation classes of the last 100 years. Also in a display case are a German Bible brought by members immigrating from Germany and other interesting artifacts.