Today in Wheeling History: July 5—St. John’s congregation adopts the new denominational name St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed Church following a national merger (1939).
St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church traces its beginnings to about 1835, when Wheeling’s German pioneers held worship first in a frame building on Main Street and later in the old Ohio County Courthouse on Tenth Street. Under Rev. Andreas Schwartz, the congregation formally organized and erected its first church in 1836 at Eighteenth Street and Alley F. Its cornerstone, inscribed “Erste Deutsche Lutherische Kirche in Wheeling, 1836,” remains embedded in the east wall of the present building.
A merger with another German-speaking congregation around 1870 led to the name St. John’s German Evangelical Protestant Church and the construction of a larger Gothic Revival church at 17th and Market Streets, dedicated in 1872. Rapid growth followed, but the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s expansion forced the congregation to sell the property after a 1906 court ruling. St. John’s salvaged its stained glass, organ, bell, pews, and furnishings before the building was demolished.
The congregation purchased a new site at 22nd and Chapline Streets, where architect Frederick F. Faris designed a striking German Gothic structure built of yellow brick on a massive sandstone foundation. The cornerstone was laid in 1907, and the sanctuary dedicated in 1908. A major milestone came on July 5, 1939, when St. John’s officially became St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed Church following the national merger of the Evangelical and Reformed denominations. Another merger in 1961 brought the name St. John’s United Church of Christ, and in 2006 the congregation restored its historic Evangelical Protestant identity. By 2019, the church formally adopted the name Centre Wheeling Fellowship
Today, Centre Wheeling Fellowship operates as a community‑focused ministry offering outreach programs such as the Free Bike Depot and Christian Life and Recovery Services, expanding its mission to serve Wheeling with mobility assistance, practical support, and compassionate guidance for those in need.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church (https://tinyurl.com/wsmpvk76), SAH Archipedia – St. John’s United Church of Christ (https://tinyurl.com/fx8f4eew), Ohio County Public Library – Brief History of St. John’s United Church of Christ [1986] (https://tinyurl.com/ct2tzm2c), Centre Wheeling Fellowship (https://tinyurl.com/ycy7yc9b), Facebook - Centre Wheeling Fellowship (https://tinyurl.com/ayhkeutn)
Photo caption and credit: St. John's United Church of Christ, View From Chapline Street, Wheeling, WV, 2002 (Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV)
St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church traces its beginnings to about 1835, when Wheeling’s German pioneers held worship first in a frame building on Main Street and later in the old Ohio County Courthouse on Tenth Street. Under Rev. Andreas Schwartz, the congregation formally organized and erected its first church in 1836 at Eighteenth Street and Alley F. Its cornerstone, inscribed “Erste Deutsche Lutherische Kirche in Wheeling, 1836,” remains embedded in the east wall of the present building.
A merger with another German-speaking congregation around 1870 led to the name St. John’s German Evangelical Protestant Church and the construction of a larger Gothic Revival church at 17th and Market Streets, dedicated in 1872. Rapid growth followed, but the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s expansion forced the congregation to sell the property after a 1906 court ruling. St. John’s salvaged its stained glass, organ, bell, pews, and furnishings before the building was demolished.
The congregation purchased a new site at 22nd and Chapline Streets, where architect Frederick F. Faris designed a striking German Gothic structure built of yellow brick on a massive sandstone foundation. The cornerstone was laid in 1907, and the sanctuary dedicated in 1908. A major milestone came on July 5, 1939, when St. John’s officially became St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed Church following the national merger of the Evangelical and Reformed denominations. Another merger in 1961 brought the name St. John’s United Church of Christ, and in 2006 the congregation restored its historic Evangelical Protestant identity. By 2019, the church formally adopted the name Centre Wheeling Fellowship
Today, Centre Wheeling Fellowship operates as a community‑focused ministry offering outreach programs such as the Free Bike Depot and Christian Life and Recovery Services, expanding its mission to serve Wheeling with mobility assistance, practical support, and compassionate guidance for those in need.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church (https://tinyurl.com/wsmpvk76), SAH Archipedia – St. John’s United Church of Christ (https://tinyurl.com/fx8f4eew), Ohio County Public Library – Brief History of St. John’s United Church of Christ [1986] (https://tinyurl.com/ct2tzm2c), Centre Wheeling Fellowship (https://tinyurl.com/ycy7yc9b), Facebook - Centre Wheeling Fellowship (https://tinyurl.com/ayhkeutn)
Photo caption and credit: St. John's United Church of Christ, View From Chapline Street, Wheeling, WV, 2002 (Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV)
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