Our Story

Mission Statement

The mission of the St. Lucas Historical Society is to preserve the past, celebrate our cultural heritage and embrace the future. The Society is a team of active participants from the community and across the Nation who are dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the historic school building, the continued growth and development of the German American Museum, Library and Family History Center. The Museum is meant to celebrate the rich history and cultural heritage of the community.

Purpose

The St. Lucas Historical Society is a growing team of interested folks from the community and across the country who are dedicated to the development and growth of the German-American Museum, Library and Family History Center. The Museum is in the beautiful 105-year old St. Luke’s School Building in St. Lucas, Iowa.

The Society has three primary focus areas:

Preservation of the school building and blacksmith shop
Development of the museum
Celebration of the rich history and cultural heritage of the community

Ruth (Huber) Pavlovec explaining Huber stone house (1)

Museum Development

Over the past decades, the Society has focused on the development of the Museum, Library and Family History Center. The generous donations of several thousand historic documents, artifacts, photos, books and other materials have allowed our collections to grow rapidly.

The Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area has generously supported the develop of seven theme areas for the Museum collections.

These Museum themes include:

Why people came to this area from Europe.
The role of the church and religion in establishing the community.
The importance of education.
The critical role of agriculture and industrial arts in the development and growth of the community.
The role of social organizations.
The role of sports in shaping community identity, and
The role of military service in integrating the community into the larger region and nation.

Celebration of the Rich History and Cultural Heritage of the Community.

The third focus area of the Society has been the celebration of the rich heritage of the community. These activities include the annual Christmas Reflections program, the Oktoberfest celebration, history seminars, and classical church music concerts.

We have hosted lectures on family history and topics unique to this area, as well as family gatherings and community social events. We continue to work on the development of these theme areas. Donations of historical materials and artifacts are always most welcome.

German American Museum - Genealogy

We are pleased to share the recent listing of the family histories and genealogies. Joyce Schaufenbuel compiled this listing to give you a better idea of the current collection in the Family History Center. If you know of family histories or genealogies that are missing, please consider sharing a copy with us to expand this growing collection. We are amazed at the number of folks researching their family history and genealogy. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your kind help. View The Collection of Family Genealogy and History.

Building Preservation

Restoring and preserving this architecturally and culturally unique educational building that houses the museum, library and family history programs is vital to the cultural, educational, historical and psychological well being of the community and adds greatly to the historical and cultural heritage of the region, state and Nation.

Volunteer Efforts are the Lifeblood of Historic Preservation and Museums

Of course, time, talent and treasure are the vital ingredients for any preservation and restoration effort. Most folks are preservationists at heart. Some farmers are saving historic barns and old tools that their fathers and grandfathers built or used. In a few years the large barns and old tools may be rare indeed.