Historical Images of Porter County

Sw. Luth. Augsburg Church, Porter, Ind.
Porter, Indiana

Date: 1911
Source Type: Postcard
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: R. E. Nelson
Postmark: February 14, 1911, Porter, Indiana
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: The church seen in this postcard image no longer exists. It represented the third of four churches that have occupied the same site. The location of this church is the southeast corner of the present day junction of Beam Street and Mineral Springs Road in Porter, Indiana. At 3:45 pm on Saturday, March 11, 1933, the church seen here was destroyed by a fire caused by a propane gas tank explosion in the basement. The blast occurred while the congregation's Luther League members were preparing to serve a waffle supper. Injured were Ruth Chellberg, Adele Borg, Marion Dilley, and Steve Ignacik. Chellburg was severely burned but she did recover. The church filed suit in the Porter Circuit Court for damages against the Protane Corporation and Illinois Bottled Gas Company to collect $21,000 in losses caused by the fire. By August of 1933, construction had begun on the structure currently used by the congregation. The structure cost $30,000 to build and was sited at the same location of previous church. The Augsburg Evangelical Lutheran Church in Porter, Porter County, Indiana, can trace its establishment to 1852.

Return to Porter Churches Images Index
Return to Porter County Photographs & Historical Images

Please contact the Porter County GenWeb Coordinator if
you can provide any additional information concerning this image.

Image and related text prepared by Steven R. Shook