Church of the
Palatinates
II is located not far from
Newton, in Caitau'ba County
and was built by early set¬
tlers who came from Ger¬
many to make tlieir homes in
Western North Carolina.
By HARRY Z. TUCKER
The church structure is still standing and is in
fairly good repair. It is reported to have been
erected in 1763.
THERE still stands not far from
Newton, in Catawba County, one
of the few remaining colonial
churches in North Carolina. His¬
toric St. Paul's Church, said to have
been erected in 170:1, is yet in a good
stage of preservation, and is today a
sturdy and substantial building.
The old German meeting house was
built by the Palatinates, immigrants
to this country from the Palatinate,
a section of old Germany which was
ruled by a court palatine. Theirs was
n very progressive country which had
for its most important rivers the
Rhine and Lautcr.
It was by the Peace of Westphalia.
1648, that the Palatinate was dis¬
joined by circumstances arising from
the Thirty Years War and was divid¬
ed into two parts. Upper and Lower
Palatinate, which had for their cap¬
itals Heidelberg and Mannheim. Up¬
per Palatinate fell into the hands of
Bavaria. It was from this section
that thousands of German Protestants
came to America loss than a century
later. They had been invited by
Queen Anne of England, and bv Wil¬
liam Penn. With them were persecu-
tionists from France and Switzerland.
The French were Huguenots who had
fled to Germany after the Edict of
Nantes.
Two Denominations
These people began to occupy West¬
ern North Carolina about 1740. Al¬
though they spoke the German lan¬
guage, they were divided into two re¬
ligious denominations, Lutheran and
German Reformed. However, since
they had so much in common, they
got along nicely together and were
harmonious in all their dealings. They
understood each other so well, it is
recorded, that they united their ef¬
forts and erected one church building
to serve both sects.
For many years after the erection
of the “Dutch Meeting House,” as St.
Paul’s was sometimes called by the
people, there was no resident minis¬
ter in their midst. The settlement
was dependent upon men who trav¬
eled over the Carolinas on horseback
and stopped for a short time teaching
and preaching when they reached a
thickly settled community. Many of
these men were not regularly or¬
dained ministers, but were teachers
authorized to read the services and
printed sermons of noted divines of
the old country. Baptismal, eueharis-
tic. and confirmation services had to
wait the arrival of a regular minister.
Burial service was sometimes con¬
ducted years after the death of a mem¬
ber. and was known as a memorial
service.
Left Little Literature
These German people must have
paid very little attention to literature,
for they left only a few records of
their early days of colonization in the
Carolina wilderness. One of their
meager records does furnish the infor¬
mation, however, that a Swiss minis¬
ter by the name of Martin preached
among them in 1759, and that, the
land for the church and cemeterv was
donated by one Paul Anthony. There
is also a deed extant that empowers
commissioners with the control of the
church property. Tt is dated 1818.
The church edifice is n substantial
and ancient structure. Tt has an in¬
teresting pulpit of the old style, broad
aisles, chandeliers pendent from the
high roof, and some interesting fila¬
gree and panel-work around the gal¬
lery. The building, rectangular in
form, has walls more than two feet
thick. There is a door in each end,
and one door on the front side. Just
inside the end doors are the steep,
narrow, winding stairs leading to the
gallery. The seats in the gallery are
built on a steep incline, and arc very
high, stifT, and uncomfortable. The
windows in the gallery are small,
square openings. There are three to
each side and two to each end. The
windows downstairs are longer but
no wider than those above. The
church is a good two stories and a half
high.
The old goblet pulpit, built very
high so that the preacher could be
heard in the gallery, is reache-1 by a
narrow flight of steps. The quaint
sounding hoard, usually seen only in
colonial churches, is one of the un¬
usual and delightful features of St.
Paul’s. There is some panelling used
in connection with the pulpit.
The graveyard, dating back nearly
two hundred years, Has reached large
proportions. Soldiers of six wars are
buried here. Under the spreading
boughs of mammoth old cedars, long
dead but not forgotten, sleep many
who fought for the freedom of Amer¬
ica. Many of the early graves in the
old cemetery have simple soapstone
markers and are dated in the 1700’s.
The inscriptions on these arc all in
German. On some of the markers arc
long and informative epitaphs, dis¬
playing queer ideas and eulogies.
The first resident pastor of St.
Paul’s was a Lutheran, the Reverend
John Godfrey Arndt. lie began his
ministry in 1773. but was not or¬
dained until 1775. The Reverend
Arndt built his home on Leeper’s
Creek, in what is now Lincoln County,
eighteen miles away. The pioneer
log house of seven rooms is still stand-
(Continved on page eighteen)
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