National Register Listing

Trinity English Lutheran Church

a.k.a. Phase IV--East Dallas DAL/DA 50

3100 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., Dallas, TX

Trinity English Lutheran Church, a late Gothic Revival style institutional building and its associated Sunday School building, is possibly the least-altered and best-preserved historic neighborhood church in all of South Dallas. The sanctuary was constructed around 1925 on the property associated with the Trinity English Lutheran congregation since 1908 when its first frame church was built on the site of the present Sunday School building. The brick Sunday School building, at the rear of the church lot facing Meadow Street, was built shortly after the completion of the sanctuary. Although Trinity Lutheran Church is the oldest English- speaking Lutheran church in Dallas, it is nominated under Criterion C in the area of Architecture at the local level. It is associated with the historic context, The Development of East and South Dallas: 1872-1945.

The Lutheran Church, which is the state church of Sweden, was often associated with Scandinavian or German immigrants in America who wished to worship in their native languages. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some immigrant groups formed their own communities in Texas where their native language was spoken almost exclusively at home, at school, in church, and in business, through several generations. In cities like Dallas, however, where the dominant culture and business demands encouraged the use of English, most native-language Lutheran churches changed to English during the second generations, as was the case with Emanuel Lutheran Church (formerly Swedish Immanuel Lutheran Church), in East Dallas. Among certain American congregations, particularly those comprised of immigrants from different European countries as well as American converts, English was used exclusively. These churches were part of the Missouri Synod, an American variant of Lutheranism, and the word "English" was often part of the church name to indicate its use in the services. Although its early membership was composed largely of Scandinavians, Trinity English Lutheran Church was part of the Missouri Synod (Missouri in Texas: A History of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in Texas 1855-1941: 1941:92) and is the oldest English-speaking Lutheran church in Dallas.

The first Lutheran Church associated with the Missouri Synod in Dallas was the old Zion Lutheran Church, established in 1874 in the central city. Dallas' phenomenal growth, from a population of 42,638 in 1900 to 158,976 in 1920, coupled with a surge of European immigrants during the same period, encouraged Zion Church to open a new mission on Meadow Street near its intersection with Forest Avenue (now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.), the major crosstown streetcar line in South Dallas (Missouri in Texas, 1941:92). The location served the tradesmen, craftsmen and working-class families who settled in the moderately-priced neighborhoods of South Park (1898) and Chamberlain's Addition. Although city directories did not indicate nationality, many of the family names in the vicinity of the church appear to be Germanic or Scandinavian in origins, such as Carl Bernhard, C. B. Christensen and Nels Hansen (City directories, 1905-1915). A history of the Missouri Synod in Texas stated that English, rather than German, was used because the early congregation was primarily Scandinavian. This doesn't explain why they didn't use Swedish or Norwegian, however, except that the Missouri Synod was a uniquely American branch of the Lutheran Church and was predisposed to the use of English as a method of assimilating their communicants into American society.

The first church was a 1-story frame building built in 1908 at 3106 Mays (changed to Meadow about 1915), at the rear of a large corner on which a parsonage (1914, later demolished) and the current church building (1925) would be built. The congregation grew so rapidly that the church was self-sustaining within two years of its establishment (Missouri in Texas, 1941:124). The first pastor was Rev. Arthur H. Kaub but another pastor, Rev. W. F. Klindworth, had the most lasting effect on the congregation. Klindworth, a native of Washington County, began his ministry in 1907 and came to Trinity Lutheran Church in 1918 where he remained for 39 years. At the close of his 39th year at Trinity Lutheran, which also marked his 50 years as a Lutheran minister, Klindworth stepped down from the pulpit. Klindworth was credited with establishing the Lone Star District of the International Walther League (now Luther League), Texas' first Lutheran youth organization, from Trinity Lutheran in 1920 (Dallas Morning News (DMN), October 12, 1947, and June 14, 1951). Under Klindworth's pastorate, Trinity English Lutheran Church helped found other Lutheran churches in Dallas, including Hope Lutheran Mission and Grace Lutheran Church (Times Herald, November 4, 1951).

Under Klindworth's leadership, the new church was built around 1925, followed by the Sunday School building on the site of the old frame building. An architect's 1947 rendering depicted proposed changes to the church complex that would contain 19 additional Sunday School rooms and an auditorium to cost $50,000. The changes were not implemented as anticipated, leaving both buildings virtually intact. Pastor Klindworth discussed the changes that had taken place in the church's old South Dallas neighborhood when he stepped down from the pulpit in 1957. Klindworth indicated that the church might relocate because its once-residential neighborhood was rapidly being transformed into a commercial zone and parishioners were moving away. In 1960, the congregation moved to a new church in North Dallas, at Gaston and Loving Avenues.

Trinity Lutheran Church was taken over by the congregation of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, an African-American congregation that formed in 1940 and came to be known as a driving force for Civil Rights. Shortly after the Trinity Lutheran congregation left the site, Pastor Mark Herbener came to lead the now-integrated church and continue the fight for Civil Rights. Former Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) staff member, Peter Johnson, and Dallas City Plan commissioner Charlotte Ragsdale recalled that "the beginning of real social change started in Mt. Olive Lutheran Church" under Mark Herbener, who allowed organizations like the SCLC; the Black Citizens for Justice, Law and Order; the Dallas Block Partnership; and the Student Non-violent Co-ordinating Committee meet in the church. The church also initiated daycare programs for low-income working mothers, a food pantry to feed the hungry, a clothing ministry, and a housing program to help the poor in South Dallas.

Although Trinity Lutheran Church is known today for its social contributions to the South Dallas communities it serves, its nomination to the National Register is based on its noteworthy late Gothic Revival architecture. Though this style was used often on ecclesiastical buildings of the early 20th century, the Trinity Lutheran Church and its Sunday School Building are noteworthy examples because they are virtually unaltered and retain much of their historic character and integrity.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1995.