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Photograph of Immanuel Lutheran Church
Photograph by Chris Light at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Immanuel Lutheran Church

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

From the record

“The congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Valparaiso, Indiana, was founded in 1862 by 69 German families. The church building was erected in 1891 by Henry Lemster and his son, Charles.”

Wikipedia article Immanuel Lutheran Church (Valparaiso, Indiana), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 42 National Register listings published here for Porter County · listed in 1982 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 308 N. Washington St., Valparaiso, 46383
  • When was it listed? February 1982
  • Category. building
  • Township. Center township
  • National Register reference number. 82000028 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

33 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 33 fires within 5 miles of Immanuel Lutheran Church between 1995 and 2004, burning about 81 acres in total. None started naturally. 4 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined16
Recreation and ceremony8
Arson/incendiarism4
Debris and open burning4
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
27 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIndiana State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
27 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIndiana State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
14 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIndiana State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
7 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIndiana State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
10 August 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIndiana State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
31 July 2002Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresIndiana State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
5 June 2003Arson/incendiarism1.5 acresIndiana State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
6 May 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIndiana State Fire Marshal's Officenot named

Every fire recorded in Porter County

Mines and quarries near this property

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Immanuel Lutheran Church: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Porter Co. Hwy Dept.StoneProducer
Valparaiso Supt. of StreetsStoneProducer

Every working recorded in Porter County

Storms near this property

60 of 72 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Valparaiso, the town this property stands in, in 72 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 39 thunderstorm wind, 18 hail, 6 flood, 5 lightning. The reports record 4 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2011LightningValparaiso2 hurtAn employee at a drugstore was using the telephone when lightning struck nearby. The employee reported feeling a jolt and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. A dispatcher at the 911 center also reported a jolt after lightning struck the center. Sparks were reportedly seen inside the center just after the lightning strike.
May 2011LightningValparaiso1 hurtA woman in Jackson Township was injured when lightning struck nearby while she was closing a metal window.
July 2005LightningValparaiso1 hurtA worker at the Porter County Fairgrounds was struck by lightning.
August 2014Flash FloodValparaiso$250,000Street and basement flooding was reported over portions of Valparaiso.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindValparaiso$100,000no account filed
November 2013Thunderstorm WindValparaiso$25,000On the east side of Valparaiso, numerous power poles were snapped and trees were blown down. County Road 600N was closed between 300E and 400E due to several high tension poles and power lines down across the road.
August 2012LightningValparaiso$25,000Two houses were set on fire after lightning strikes.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindValparaiso$25,000Several trees and tree limbs were blown down. One tree was blown onto a house. A large tree was blown down in Tower Park. The roof of a restaurant was blown off a sandwich shop.
August 2007FloodValparaiso$25,000A van drove into eight inches of flood water, lost control, crossed the median into westbound lanes and was hit by a semi-trailer. Two passengers were killed and the driver was critically injured.
May 2011LightningValparaiso$5,000Lightning struck a garage on Roosevelt Road. About an hour later, smoke was seen billowing from the detached garage. The fire was quickly put out by firefighters.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindValparaiso$5,000Trees and power lines blown down.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindValparaiso$3,000Large tree limbs fell on cars at Chesterton and Valparaiso. A tree also fell across Route 12 in Porter County.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindValparaiso$1,000Two trees were blown down onto power lines.
July 2025FloodValparaiso-Multiple streets in Valparaiso were flooded with a few inches of water.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Trees and power lines were blown down on Union Street.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Trees and tree limbs were blown down on and around the Valparaiso University campus.
March 2023HailValparaiso-A photo shared of hail in Valparaiso showed the largest hailstones were approximately quarter sized.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-A photo shared via social media shows a 2 to 4 inch diameter tree branch had been snapped near Oak St and Garfield St. Wind speed was estimated using radar.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Tree limbs were blown down on power lines.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Scattered large tree limbs were blown down in Valparaiso.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-A photo was shared on social media of a large tree limb snapped.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Tree damage was reported.
April 2020FloodValparaiso-Minor flooding of low lying areas was reported.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Trees were blown down in Valparaiso.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Four tree limbs, 8 to 10 inches in diameter, were snapped.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-A semi truck was blown over near Valparaiso.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Numerous reports of trees and wires blown down around Valparaiso were received.
June 2019FloodValparaiso-Standing water was reported in a yard along with nearby fields partially flooded. Storm total rainfall of 2.50 inches was measured.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-A large tree limb and a power line were blown down in Jackson Township. Other large tree limbs were blown down in parts of Porter County.
September 2018Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-A large tree was split on the southeast side of Valparaiso.
June 2017HailValparaiso-Quarter to half dollar size hail was reported in Valparaiso.
August 2016FloodValparaiso-Standing water over Route 2 one mile east of Valparaiso.
June 2015Flash FloodValparaiso-Numerous streets and bridges had to be closed due to flooding.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Powerlines were blown down across portions of Valparaiso.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Tree limbs and branches were blown down across portions of Valparaiso.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Numerous trees were blown down.
June 2013FloodValparaiso-Porter County Highway Department reported numerous roads and subdivisions flooded throughout the County. Approximately two inches of rain fell in 37 minutes.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Wind gusts were estimated to 75 mph.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Several trees were blown down in the Valparaiso area.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-A one foot diameter tree was blown down near Joliet Road and Route 130.
August 2009Heavy RainValparaiso-Rainfall of 2.20 inches was reported in the past 24 hours.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph one mile east of Valparaiso.
June 2008HailValparaiso-Penny to quarter size hail was reported.
August 2007Flash FloodValparaiso-Roadways covered by water.
August 2007HailValparaiso-Quarter size hail reported on the west side of Valparaiso.
August 2007HailValparaiso-Nickel size hail reported at Sweetbriar Road.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Trees blown down near Route 30 and Horseprairie Road, winds estimated to 80 mph.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Estimated gust to 80 mph in rural Washington Township.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-A two and half foot diameter tree was snapped at it's base.
October 2007HailValparaiso-Quarter size hail was reported at Route 2 and Route 30.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Small trees were uprooted and large limbs were blown down near County Road 325 and County Road 400.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-A 30 foot tall tree was blown down along the county line, 2 miles west of Westville in Porter County.
June 2005HailValparaiso-Penny size hail fell for about 10 minutes.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-In Morgan Township several old trees were blown down.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Large tree limbs were blown down across parts of eastern Valparaiso.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-Trees and limbs downed throughout the county, especially southwest of Valparaiso.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindValparaiso-no account filed
March 2023HailValparaiso-no account filed
April 2020HailValparaiso-no account filed
May 2020HailValparaiso-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Porter County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
DeForest Skinner Houseunder 500 feet2008
Patrick and Catherine Clifford House0.1 miles2021
Haste-Crumpacker House0.1 miles2010
Dr. David J. Loring Residence and Clinic0.2 miles1984
Charles S. and Mary McGill House0.2 miles2013
Valparaiso Downtown Commercial District0.3 miles1990

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 82000028 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Porter CountyAll 42 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.