St. John’s Lutheran began as German speaking pioneers gathered about 1802 along the Sycamore Creek in what is now Miamisburg in Miami Township. When the Emmanuel Gebhart family joined them in 1804 along with Reverend John J. La Rose, a two room log structure was erected along the creek bank. One room was used for meetings and services and the other room as the first school in Washington Township (the western portion became Miami Township in 1829). This structure became known as St. John’s Meeting House. These pioneer settlers were of both German Reformed and Lutheran backgrounds and in fact formed a Union Congregation by 1818 and built the St. John’s Union Church on top of the hill now the cemetery. Because the church was built on land sold to the fledgling congregation by Emmanual Gebhart, the church was also called The Gebhart Church as the name Gebhart Church Road gives evidence to this day of our rich history.
Today St. John’s proudly maintains the cemetery where many of early Miamisburg founders are buried. The original sanctuary still sits on the corner of Maue and So. Gebhart Church roads and is in the process of being restored.
We continue to evolve the traditions started in 1819, although we occupy a modern accessible Sanctuary on the same land we were founded on.