Centerville,
NE.
Churches
CENTERVILLE
GERMAN
LUTHERAN
CHURCH
1874
Centerville
Precinct
In
1874
the
German
Lutherans
organized
and
built
a
church
on
the
southeast
quarter
of
Section
35.
CENTERVILLE
HIGHLAND
CHURCH
1890
-
1926
Centerville
Precinct
As
the
population
increased
in
the
Centerville
Community,
other
churches
appeared.
The
Highland
Church
was
an
outgrowth
of
the
Centerville
Church
and
administered
by
the
preacher
in
charge
at
Centerville.
For
two
years
before
the
church
was
built,
the
group
met
in
various
homes
and
in
the
schoolhouse.
In
1892
under
the
leadership
of
Brother
F.
H.
Schultz,
pastor
of
Centerville,
the
Highland
Church
was
built
four
miles
west
and
one
mile
north
of
Centerville.
This
arrangement
of
pastors
continued
until
1926
when
the
consolidation
of
the
Highland
Church
with
the
Centerville
and
Martell
Churches
ended
the
Highland
congregation.
The
land
where
the
church
stood
soon
returned
to
the
owner
as
was
arranged
under
a
previous
arrangement.
CENTERVILLE
METHODIST
CHURCH
1868
-1926
Centerville
Precinct
A
group
would
meet
occasionally
for
religious
services
during
1867
-1868
for
Sunday
School
in
the
home
of
Julius
Wittstruck.
In
1868
Brother
Fred
Miller
began
preaching
services
in
various
log
homes
and
especially
in
the
home
of
Charles
Krull.
Later
they
met
in
the
little
log
schoolhouse.
The
next
year
Brother
H.
M.
Menger
came
to
be
the
preacher
of
this
group.
Under
Brother
Menger's
leadership
the
Centerville
Church
was
built
in
1869
just
across
from
the
road
south
of
where
the
Centerville
School
was
later
built.
In
1882,
under
Brother
Christian
Brugger,
the
first
church
was
sold
to
William
Stutheit
who
moved
and
remodeled
the
church
for
a
dwelling.
A
new
and
much
larger
church
was
then
built
on
the
southwest
corner
of
the
intersection
and
was
referred
to
as
"Beacon
of
the
Hill."
The
church
was
part
of
the
West
German
Conference
of
Methodist.
The
sermons
were
in
German.
The
parsonage
of
the
Centerville
Church
was
built
in
1899
under
the
leadership
of
Rev.
John
D.
Hammel.
Some
of
the
charter
members
of
this
church
were
Mr.
F.
Soneman's
mother,
E.
Preye,
D.
Krull,
C.
Zimmerman's
father,
Henry
Freye's
father,
J.
C.
Miller's
parents,
and
J.
A.
Sittler's
parents.
In
1926
the
members
voted
to
consolidate
with
the
churches
at
Highland
and
Martell
in
the
building
of
a
larger
church
in
Martell.
Under
the
leadership
of
Rev.
Paul
Barnes,
the
three
congregations
were
consolidated
to
hold
meetings
in
the
Martell
Community
Hall
until
the
old
churches
were
torn
down
and
the
new
one
built.
Following
is
a
list
of
the
pastors
and
their
years
of
service:
Fred
Miller,1868
H.
M.
Menger,
1869
J.C.
Kost
L.
L.
Eichenberger
Henry
Reimers
Charles
Harms
Christian
Brugger
1881-1884
J.
G.
Keller
1884-1887
F.
H.
Schultz
1887-1892
Gustav
Becker
1892-1896
Wm.
Pommerenke
(assisted)
L.
D.
Wagner
(assisted)
P.
W.
Mattai
1869-1898
J.D.
Hammel
1898-1901
John
Swink
1906-1908
Bernard
Johansen
1908-1912
F.
W.
Bintz
1912-1916
G
.J.
Jaiser
1916-1922
H.
A.
Feldman
1922-1926
