St. Peter's Lutheran Church
The St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Blooming, Oregon was organized on May 7, 1882. Blooming was located about two miles south of Cornelius which is approximately 25 miles west of Portland.
The founding members of the church included Germans who had emigrated directly from Germany and several Volga German families that were among the group that traveled from Kansas and arrived in Portland in 1881. Although most of these families decided to move on to the Palouse country of Eastern Washington, several families remained in Oregon and chose to settle to the west of Portland in the Tualatin Valley where they could continue their livelihoods as farmers. They joined other German families in the area and founded the community of Blooming.
Most of the families were from the colonies of Neu-Yagodnaya-Polyana, Schöntal, and Schönfeld, which were daughter colonies of Yagodnaya-Polyana and neighboring Pobochnaya. These families include:
This group of Volga Germans were the first to join an established Lutheran denomination (Missouri Synod) in Oregon.
The new St. Peter's Church (1989) and Blooming Cemetery remain as reminders of this community.
The first Volga German churches to organize in Portland were the Albina Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1889, and the First German Congregational Ebenezer Church, which began worship services in 1890 and formally incorporated in 1892.
The founding members of the church included Germans who had emigrated directly from Germany and several Volga German families that were among the group that traveled from Kansas and arrived in Portland in 1881. Although most of these families decided to move on to the Palouse country of Eastern Washington, several families remained in Oregon and chose to settle to the west of Portland in the Tualatin Valley where they could continue their livelihoods as farmers. They joined other German families in the area and founded the community of Blooming.
Most of the families were from the colonies of Neu-Yagodnaya-Polyana, Schöntal, and Schönfeld, which were daughter colonies of Yagodnaya-Polyana and neighboring Pobochnaya. These families include:
- Philipp Hergert (1820-1882) and Anna Margaretha Brecht (1829-1890)
- Adam Hergert (1850-1932) and Anna Maria Völker (1854-1942). Their daughters married Leinweber, LeReau, Morasch.
- Heinrich Scheuermann (1827-1907) and Maria Elisabeth Hergert (1841-1931). Their daughters married with the Matthes, Kleier, Guldenzopf, and Liebenow families.
- Heinrich Völker (1850-1919) and Maria Katharina Befus (1855-1892)
This group of Volga Germans were the first to join an established Lutheran denomination (Missouri Synod) in Oregon.
The new St. Peter's Church (1989) and Blooming Cemetery remain as reminders of this community.
The first Volga German churches to organize in Portland were the Albina Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1889, and the First German Congregational Ebenezer Church, which began worship services in 1890 and formally incorporated in 1892.
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Sources
Scheuerman, Richard D. & Clifford E. Trafzer. The Volga Germans: Pioneers of the Northwest. Moscow, ID: University of Idaho Press, 1985.
Serving the Lord Jesus for 125 Years: 1882-2007 (The 125th Anniversary of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church).
The Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University.
Serving the Lord Jesus for 125 Years: 1882-2007 (The 125th Anniversary of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church).
The Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University.
Last updated June 6, 2019.