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KOUNTZE MEMORIAL CHURCH

Religious history of Omaha would be incomplete without the Lutheran Church. Augustus Kountze, a notable Omaha pioneer, wrote to his former pastor in Canton, OH, asking that Nebraska be declared a mission field of the Lutheran Church. As a result, the Reverend Henry Welty Kuhns arrived and conducted the first worship service on December 5, 1858.

The church pictured here is the second church for this congregation. It was located on the northeast corner of 16th & Harney streets. Augustus Kountze informed church members that he would match any funds raised. As a result, a $50,000 church was erected on the site. The congregation decided to adopt the name Kountze Memorial Church in honor of Mr. Augustus Kountze’s deceased father. Church property at 16th & Harney was sold on March 21, 1904, for $90,000 to James Neville, a business developer. The second church was immediately demolished. The third church, Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church, relocated to its present site at 26th & Farnam streets.