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St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery 15697 New Road, Madison Township Proposed Historic Landmark Landmark Nomination Sandy Hochstetler, Secretary and Karl Andrew Brenner, Pastor Loci, cosigned a letter requesting that the HPC consider historic landmark status. The letter is dated May 31, 2009. Location The cemetery property is approximately 250 -300 yards from the intersection of New Road and Rt. 331. The cemetery is located on the south side of New Road, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church is located to the west of the site, on the north side of New Road. Despite this, the church and cemetery share the same address. Per the St. Joseph County Road numbering and address system, 15697 specifically corresponds to the (as it is an odd number) a property on the north side of an east /west road. The 1875 St. Joseph County atlas shows the church and cemetery on Page 69. (Included) Section 22, Township 36N, Range 3E Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Survey Rating The Interim Report published in June 2006 rated the St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery as Contributing: 032 C St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery; 15697 New Rd.; c.1845- present; Exploration /Settlement, Religion Context The congregation of St. Paul's Lutheran Church began meeting as a religious community in 1846, and was formally organized as a congregation in 1851. Although it is assumed that burials were taking place, records are non existent. The presumption though is that burials began circa 1851 -1854, though the land was not deeded as a cemetery until 1862. The 1875 St. Joseph County Atlas show the plot essentially as it appears today. Church death records begin in 1898. Recommendation The St. Paul's Lutheran Church cemetery is recommended for designation as a Local Landmark based on the following criteria: 1. Its suitability for preservation; and 2. Its cultural and educational value. The cemetery fulfills criteria #1 in that the site is in good shape and the landscape is well maintained. It does not appear that any of the stones are suffering any damage other than typical weathering, although the application to the state registry suggests that they do find occasional vandalism. Also, a recent road improvement project on New Road