The Second Germanna Colony moved to the Robinson River Valley in 1725. According to the " Church Order " they wrote in 1776, they formally organized as a Lutheran church in 1728. Probably, they built a log chapel about this time. It is known there was a chapel, because deeds specifically refer to it. For several years, they had no minister. During this time, Michael Smith acted as a reader. In 1733, John Caspar Stöver was convinced to become their minister, even though he was not ordained. After ordination, he served for about two years before he and two members of the congregation went on a fund raising trip to Germany that lasted several years. Stöver died on the way home and his place was taken by George Samuel Klüg, who had been hired in Germany as an assistant minister. In 1739, when Klüg and the money were back, construction on the new church building started and the building was completed in 1740. This building still stands, though it had been modified.
The original building was a simple rectangle with the long axis on an east-west axis. There was no ceiling, the roof of the building serving for this. There were two balconies, one at each end of the building. The altar was in the middle of the north wall, between the balconies. Though this seems an unusual location to us today, the placement of the altar in the middle of one of the long walls was not unusual in colonial churches. (I have seen other examples.)
Seating was segregated by 1775 and probably had been since the church was built. The main floor was for married couples who came to church with their mate. One balcony was for women and the other balcony was for men. A widowed man or even a man who came to church without his wife would sit in the men's balcony. Thus, there was an age mixture in the balconies. Though their attendance is not recorded, slaves sat in the back of the balconies (according to the practice in other colonial churches).
When this original building proved not to have enough space is unknown. At some point, probably before the organ was purchased, another wing was built. The plan became a "T" where the original building was the cross bar of the T (the transept), and the new wing became the upright of the T. At the foot of the T, a small balcony became the loft for the organ. I believe that the new wing came before the organ since the decision to purchase the organ is recorded in the church register, but without any discussion as to where to install it, as though space would not be a problem.
There are eight extant Tannenberg organs, all very similar, in existence. I believe the Hebron organ is the only one still used regularly, though the others are in working condition. David Tannenberg was a Moravian and the Moravians made music a major part of their worship service. The Hebron organ is the last, but one, built by Tannenberg.
In the nineteenth century, the interior of Hebron church was "modernized". A ceiling was installed which hid the trusses of the roof. Frescoes were painted on the ceiling.
(Spring City Lutheran Church, here in Chester County, Pennsylvania, has a Tannenberg organ. About 1900 they retired the "old" organ and bought a new one, though the Tannenberg remained in place. Today, the replacement organ is worn out and gone. The Tannenberg is still there and being used for concerts.)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.