St. John Evangelical Church was founded in 1843 by German settlers from Hessen-Darmstadt and the Bavarian Palatinate, later joined by emigrants from Pomerania and Wurttemberg. It was designed by architects Myrath and Koch. Its 3 acre site was purchased from Adam and Maria Stein for $150. The church was built in 1869 by member Peter Bronn from limestone quarried and cut on the nearby lands of members Valentine Schaetzel, Henry Leonhardt, and Conrad Dexheimer.