A meeting was held at Isaac Baker’s on February 12, 1842, of the members of the Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed Churches in the neighborhood for the purpose of considering building a house of worship on the lands set apart by Paul Rosenberger and Lewis Baker, wherein those congregations respectively could worship, commune, and manifest their religious desires and praises to the most High.
The church was completed in a few months, and the Trustees, Paul Rosenberger, Joseph Baker, and Lawrence Hamman, met and fixed the time of consecration to take place on October 23, 1842--the Rev. John Nicholas Schmucker being the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, and the Rev. J. S. Tiefsler being the pastor of the German Reformed Church. The church was consecrated and received the name of Saint Stephen’s. An election was held for elders and deacons and resulted in the election of Isaac Baker and Joseph Swisher as Elders and Philip Baker and Philip Swartz as Deacons.
Partly from the old house of worship of St. Stephen’s congregations (Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed) having fallen into some decay, and partly because the house was too small, the said congregations entered upon the building of a new church edifice, which began in 1860 and was completed in 1867.
The Evangelical Lutheran congregation at St. Stephen’s bought out the right, title, and interest of the German Reformed congregation in the said St. Stephen’s Church, and the church was dedicated as an Evangelical Lutheran church under the name of St. Stephen’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on November 3, 1872--Pastor H. Wetzel.
1950 Entry: The first St. Stephen’s Church burned during the Civil War, but as soon as possible, the present church was built, replacing the first church. A Brief History: St. Stephen Lutheran, by Dale Ryman 2012