Area businesses celebrate milestones

Seward County is not the only entity celebrating an anniversary this year. The county and city of Seward celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2017.

These businesses located throughout Seward County also reached milestone years.

St. John Lutheran Church

St. John Lutheran Church, located at 919 North Columbia Avenue in Seward, turns 140 years old this year.

A group of Lutherans began meeting in 1870 but met in 1876 to discuss forming a congregation.

In 1879, Pastor Friedrich Koenig became the congregation’s first full-time pastor and taught in the St. John School in 1884. In 1893, the church donated 20 acres and $8,000 to help bring Concordia Teachers College to Seward. The college is now Concordia University and is located across the street from the church.

St. John Lutheran School was established in 1884 and has provided opportunities for Concordia student teachers to gain classroom experience. The Child Development Center was established in 1992 and moved to its current location in 2016.

The current church building is the fourth for the St. John congregation. The first building was at Third and Seward streets and was dedicated in 1879. The second was dedicated in 1893 at the same location, and the third was at Fourth and Seward streets and dedicated in 1910. The congregation moved to North Columbia in 1967.

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