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Saxon Lutheran Memorial visitor center lost in fire

The visitor center at Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna, Mo., burned to the ground after an adjacent tree was struck by lightning, setting the building ablaze, on March 30. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

By Molly Lackey

FROHNA, Mo. — Late into the night on Sunday, March 30, flames consumed the visitor center at Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Perry County, Mo., a site listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in the 19^th-century Saxon German migration. The fire broke out after lightning struck a tree near the building.

Saxon Lutheran Memorial opened in 1962 after Concordia Historical Institute, the official department of archives and history of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), purchased some 30 acres of land that had belonged to Christian Adolph Bergt and his wife, Caroline Louise (Voelker) Bergt. The Bergts were German immigrants who left Saxony with a group hoping to start a confessional Lutheran church body in America. This group would go on to establish the LCMS. The memorial, which has been run independently since 2022, is a farmstead complex with multiple historic cabins and farm buildings, as well as other period buildings that have been relocated to the property, and the 1980s-built visitor center that burned.

The loss of the visitor center — which also housed a picnic site, gift shop, office space and onsite museum — is substantial. Storms had been forecast for early Sunday evening, with heavy rain and lightning passing quickly through the area. Several residents later recalled hearing a loud clap of thunder during this time, likely from the lightning strike that resulted in the fire, but it was not until many hours later, after 10 p.m., when someone in town noticed a glow in the distance in the direction of Saxon Memorial. He called a resident who lived closer to the site, who in turn observed the flames and called the fire department.

Todd Petzoldt — a lifelong Frohna resident, sixth-generation Saxon and board president of Saxon Lutheran Memorial — arrived onsite while the building was still ablaze. “When we got here, it was completely engulfed in fire,” he recalls. Though the fire was contained and eventually put out, the visitor center was “a complete and total loss — nothing survived.”

Prior to the fire, the visitor center had been serving as a temporary storage facility, housing significant historical artifacts while two original cabins underwent renovations. Now lost to time are an illustrated Bible from the 1700s, hymnals, books, agricultural tools, christening and confirmation dresses belonging to the Bergt family, artifacts from Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna, a child’s coffin, and a washstand that belonged to C.F.W. Walther, first president of the LCMS. “Things that are absolutely irreplaceable … are the sorts of things that were in there,” says Petzold.

Petzoldt established the non-profit that runs the memorial today. The memorial is meant to honor the sacrifices made by the Saxon Lutheran immigrants, who left behind home, comfort and family to worship according to their conscience. “It’s one of those issues, I think, that today is absolutely as relevant as it ever was,” says Petzoldt.

In spring 2023, the board brought on Brian and Jennie Williamson as the memorial’s ambassadors, to live on, maintain, restore and expand the facility. Jennie describes their role as helping to expand the site into “a place of peace and restoration,” especially for church workers. She and Brian envision a future where Saxon Lutheran Memorial holds conferences and serves as a retreat center. “Obviously the fire is incredibly sad and shocking,” she says. “But the main thing that we’re trying to stay focused on is the mission. What better way to reach people with restoration — we’re going to go through it ourselves!”

Amid loss, life moves on at Saxon Lutheran Memorial. The restoration project has attracted the attention of people from across the country, Williamson notes, and supporters are already expressing interest in cleanup efforts. “We are looking forward to what God has in store,” she says.

Petzoldt is likewise hopeful that the ongoing improvements to the facility will continue despite this tragedy. “We know that God means everything for good,” he says. “We have faith that that will happen.”

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Learn more about Saxon Lutheran Memorial

Watch an interview with Todd Petzoldt, president of the Saxon Lutheran Memorial Board of Directors: