Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Pitsburg, Ohio

The very first gathering was held August 20th, 1865. Divine services were held in the woods under the forest trees as there was no suitable building at that time. The Rev. George Bachman officiated, and the service was in German according to the standards at that time. On Jan. 8, 1866 a business meeting was held at the home of Michael Henninger who along with his son Michael Jr., John M. Kress, John A. Grau, Peter Eibach, Elias Spittler,Christoph Werner, George Angelbauer, John Kuhle, and Pastor Bachman. At this meeting, a church council was elected and John Kuhnle made a presentation of the deed for one half acre of land on the southwest corner of his farm.
The original building was purchased from St. Matthews, in Ithaca, for the sum of $175.00. The frame structure was torn down and moved to the site, about a quarter mile West of what has been known as the "Midway Station" at the corner of St. Rt. 49 and Verona Pitsburg Rd. This was not deemed a particularly wise move by some of the members but it still came to fruition.
On February 11, 1866 the council resolved to petition the Western District of the Ohio Synod for reception of the congregation. The Synod granted the request.
In 1881, the Sunday School lessons began being taught in English, and then in 1894 an English sermon was first introduced after which a German sermon was delivered. By 1910 St. Matthews and Trinity voted to leave the Western District (primarily German) and move to the English District since the congregation was primarily English speaking by that time. The honorable dismissal was granted as well as the new petition granted.
One incident of interest in those early years, was the theft of the communion vessels. Many years later a Mr. C.R. Hart discovered those vessels hidden in a hollowed log in the woods, and returned them to the congregation of Trinity.
In 1905 the council laid plans to build a vestibule and bell tower ($299.27) and to purchase a bell ($143.52) with a rich mellow sound. That is the same sweet sound we hear every Sunday to this day.
In March of 1914, it was voted to build a new church on a lot to be purchased in the town of Pitsburg, Ohio. The cornerstone for the new building was laid on July 26th, 1914. The entire cost of the project excluding volunteer labor was approximately $8,000. The entire debt being cleared by the spring of 1917.
In 1947, a new pipe organ was given to the church through a grant of $7,000, from the parents of Mrs. Albert Green. A new room was added to the rear of the church to house the organ.
1955 brought about the building of a new front entrance to give shelter before entering. 1958 brought about the construction of a new addition with restrooms being added.
April of 1966, Trinity became incorporated with a charter #349851, as the old incorporation papers could not be found at the State office. Along with the incorporation came plans for a new addition to the West of the building. A new chancel, chancel furnishings, new pews, carpet and decorating all coincided with the Centennial celebration. Jude Oswalt was given the contract to build the facility that exists today.