Starting out in the countryside near Augusta, Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church dates back to 1851. Its building is a wonderful example of a wood frame Gothic Revival church; I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Catholic church that looks like it before.
On the outskirts of Augusta, the Christ Evangelisch Lutheran Church was founded in 1859. It now is part of the Missouri Synod.
The sanctuary, originally in the Gothic Revival style, obviously received a substantial addition out the back and an accompanying congregation hall to the south. There is a cemetery next door, as befitting a historic church of its age.
Moving into the historic town, there is another historic church, which is interesting in that the front facade is Romanesque Revival, but the nave is Gothic Revival (not shown). This was founded as Ebenezer Evangelische Kirche in 1861, now known as Ebenezer United Church of Christ.
Augusta is a fascinating town, almost caught in a time capsule of what St. Louis would have looked like back in the 1840s and 50s when Germans flooded the City, changing it from a quiet French-English trading settlement to an increasingly industrial city. There were all sorts of towns up and down the Missouri River that could have easily, with just a twist of fate, emerged as large manufacturing centers alongside St. Louis. Augusta became known for wine, as it is again today.
The architecture is simple, showing its early German settlers’ influence. There are no flamboyant styles as seen during the Victorian Period.
The agrarian nature of the community are reflected in a couple of nice barns.
