Old St. John Lutheran ChurchEst. 1799 · Wytheville, Virginia

About This Site

Old St. John Lutheran Church in Wytheville, Virginia is maintained as a historic preservation site — not an active congregation. The church holds a single Homecoming service each year; otherwise the grounds are open to visitors, genealogy researchers, and anyone interested in the history of southwestern Virginia’s German Lutheran heritage.

What You’ll Find Here

  • The 1854 sanctuary — a simple white clapboard hall-plan church that replaced an earlier 1800 structure
  • The cemetery — over 1,200 documented burials, with stones dating from the 1730s to the present day
  • The Flohr House — the preserved c. 1807 log home of founding pastor Rev. Georg Daniel Flohr, moved to the church grounds in 1984
  • Laurence Krone’s stonework — the only early western Virginia German stone carver known by name, with approximately thirty monuments in the cemetery
  • A searchable cemetery database — browse or search the records by name, date, section, or family connection

Historic Recognition

The church and cemetery have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since January 26, 1978 (reference #78003047). The site is also designated a Virginia Landmark, and is recognized as an official Virginia 250 Place to Visit in the commonwealth’s 250th anniversary observance.

The Kegley Family’s Work

Much of what the public knows and can access about Old St. John today is the result of decades of volunteer work by the Kegley family of Wythe County:

  • F. B. (Frederick Bittle) Kegley (1877–1968), a prolific historian of southwestern Virginia, is buried on the church grounds. His 1961 book, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Wythe County, Virginia, its pastors and their records, 1800–1924, remains a primary source for the church’s history.
  • Mary B. Kegley, F. B. Kegley’s daughter, has continued the family tradition as a leading historian of southwestern Virginia, authoring multiple works on Wythe and surrounding counties.
  • Everett Kegley organized the 1984 rescue of the Flohr House, coordinating the log-by-log disassembly, transport, and reassembly that saved the building from demolition.
  • Sally Kegley compiled the cemetery records that drive the searchable database on this site.
Revolutionary War Patriots monument, Old St. John cemetery
The Revolutionary War Patriots monument, dedicated 2024 by the Virginia Society SAR, names eight veterans interred here — including Georg Daniel Flohr.

Primary Sources

Content on this site draws on:

  • National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form, St. John’s Lutheran Church and Cemetery, Wythe County, Virginia (Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, April 1977)
  • Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia — VA-02-WY18
  • Virginia Department of Historic Resources, file 139-5205
  • On-site historical markers (Virginia Historical Highway Marker FR 26; Revolutionary War Patriots monument; Laurence Krone memorial plaque)
  • F. B. Kegley (1961) and the ongoing Kegley-family research

Visiting and Contact

The grounds are open to the public at 1650 N. 4th Street, Wytheville, VA 24382, just off Exit 73 on Interstate 81. See the Visit page for directions and the annual Homecoming service date.

Old St. John does not maintain a monitored phone line, email address, or social media presence. The best way to see and experience the site is to visit in person.

Continue Exploring

Church History · The Flohr House · Laurence Krone, Stone Mason · Cemetery Listings