On June 13, 1926, a massive celebration was held in St. Louis on the occasion of the dedication of a new campus to house Concordia Seminary in Clayton, Missouri. Today marks the 100th anniversary of that event. It is indeed a special day in the history of Concordia Seminary.
In the attached post that was first published in October of 2024 about the centennial of the cornerstone laying for the Clayton Campus, I wrote about the different buildings in which Concordia Seminary has operated over the years, beginning with the Log Cabin College in Altenburg. I encourage you to read this story again on today’s special day.
Both the Concordia Historical Institute and the Concordia Seminary websites and Facebook pages have been covering this centennial observation, and I encourage you to also visit those sites for more information. In addition, other posts on this blog have been written about the history of Concordia Seminary and the buildings it has used during the years.
A black-and-white silent movie was produced documenting the celebration back in 1926. It is included in the attached post, and I hope you take the time to view this 16-minute video. I find it more fascinating every time I view it.
I find it hard to believe that about 75,000 people attended this event on a day that must have been very hot and humid. And a mass choir of 800 singers from local congregations had prepared to add special music for that occasion. I am duly impressed.
One of the buildings on the new Concordia Seminary campus was Founders Hall. It honors the 3 men who built the Log Cabin College in 1839, Johann Freidrich Buenger, Ottomar Fuerbringer, and Theodore Brohm. I borrowed this photo of Founders Hall and its 3 builders from the Concordia Seminary website.
Concordia Historical Institute placed these photos of their Facebook page recently, and I also wanted to share them here.
I have the privilege of speaking today at the Missouri District LWML Convention. They have asked me to tell the story of the 1839 immigration and settlement in Perry County. I certainly have plans to mention this important event in the history of Concordia Seminary.