St. John's Lutheran Church (Goshen, Indiana)

St. John's Lutheran Church is a historic former Lutheran church located in Harrison Township, Elkhart County, Indiana. It was built in 1852–1853 by Albert Galentine on land owned by John Rarick, Sr., who deeded the land to the "Evangelical Lutheran Church" in 1855. Services at the church ended in 1894 after John Rarick, Jr., the congregation's largest financial supporter, moved to the Elkhart area.

A one-story, Greek Revival style frame meeting house, the building measures  wide by  deep.  It has eight shuttered windows and separate entrances for men and women. The property also includes the contributing church cemetery.

The cemetery and building are owned by the St. John's Cemetery Association. The church and its cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

On July 1, 2014, a storm with straight-line winds tore the eastern half of the roof off the church, dumping the debris onto the lawn and an adjacent corn field. Several tombstones were also toppled or broken off. Volunteers placed a tarp over the structure until a permanent repair could be made. Repairs were delayed because the St. John's Cemetery Association had been legally dissolved in 2009. Papers were finally signed on October 1, 2014 to give Harrison Township ownership. The township planned to obtain donations and grants to effect the repairs.

References

Category:Lutheran churches in Indiana
Category:19th-century Lutheran churches in the United States
Category:Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana
Category:Greek Revival church buildings in Indiana
Category:Churches completed in 1853
Category:Religious organizations established in 1853
Category:Organizations disestablished in 1894
Category:Churches in Elkhart County, Indiana
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Elkhart County, Indiana