Saints Peter and Paul Lutheran Church
Freeland, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
The first Slovak Evangelical Lutheran congregation in the Western Hemisphere was organized mainly by Michael Zemany, pioneer Slovak Lutheran. The first service was conducted on February 22, 1883. Present church building, remodeled later, was erected in 1886.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
As Slovak immigrants poured into the anthracite coal towns of northeastern Pennsylvania in the late 1800s, they carried their Lutheran faith with them. In Freeland in 1883, largely through the efforts of the pioneer Michael Zemany, they organized what is remembered as the first Slovak Evangelical Lutheran congregation in the Western Hemisphere, holding their first service that February. The present church building went up in 1886.
Why it matters
It marks a foundational moment for Slovak-American religious life, showing how immigrant coal-region communities built lasting institutions to preserve their language and faith in a new country.
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Related people
- · Michael Zemany
Themes & tags
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