175 years ago, a small colony of Lutheran missionaries began to clear land in the swampy pine forests of Michigan’s Saginaw Valley. Like many other settlements in 19th century America. they fervently believed in their religion and were led by a pastor, August Crämer. Unlike most utopian movements, however, they were orthodox Christians and were not there for themselves primarily. They were missionaries to the Chippewa people. The vision of their benefactor, Wilhelm Löhe was they would reach out to these Native Americans and provide a Christian community that would be a witness to how those who love Jesus live with each other. Löhe named the town Frankenmuth — Courage of the Franconians.
The colony established itself in spite of the difficulties in settling virgin land. Giant trees had to be felled, shelters built, land plowed and a basic crop planted to survive the winter. They were plagued by malaria and other illnesses and all the while struggled to contact the Chippewas. By December, they had built the first church, St. Lorenz Lutheran Church. In the meantime, Crämer had interested the native peoples to send their children to the missionary school he would establish. The Pastor would eventually learn their language and translate the Small Catechism into their language. Soon Missionary Baierlein arrived and moved into their village. Eventually, 35 Chippewas were baptized. The Mission came to an end when the US Government relocated the tribe further west.
In the next year, ninety more colonists arrived. The community grew into a bustling farm community. Soon three more colonies would follow and prosper. Today Frankenmuth is a tourist destination for Christmas shoppers, crafts, German heritage and fine dining.
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