Altenburg, Missouri

Altenburg is a city in southeastern Perry County, Missouri. It had a population of 352 at the 2010 census.

History[edit]

Altenburg's history traces back to the Saxon German migration of 1838–39, in which traditionalist Lutherans being persecuted in the kingdom of Prussia fled to America to seek religious freedom. Led by their pastor, Martin Stephan, some 600 Germans arrived in Missouri in early 1839, and most settled in the hills of eastern Perry County, where they established several towns named after communities in their homeland. One of these was Altenburg, whose boundaries were fixed by the county court in 1847. G. H. Loeber was its first pastor. The name (German for "old castle") derives not from the German city of Altenburg, from which none of the original settlers appear to have hailed, but from the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, home to most of them.

Altenburg quickly emerged as the leading settlement of the Lutherans. A log cabin college, dubbed "Concordia Seminary," was erected in late 1839, and there in 1841 a new, more democratic form of church government was agreed upon, which would serve as a blueprint for the development of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. It was incorporated in 1870, at which time it had a population of about 200.^[1] In 1985, the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum was opened, containing a library and several mid-19th century buildings that still stand in Altenburg.

Geography[edit]

Altenburg is located along and just east of State Route C in southeastern Perry County, about two miles southeast of Frohna and 16 miles southeast of Perryville. Its exact coordinates are 37°37’53”N 89°34’53”W.

The city lies in the hilly uplands of the county, about four miles west of the Mississippi River. It has a total area of 1.05 square miles, and an average elevation of 584 feet.^[2]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Altenburg had a total of 352 inhabitants, grouped into 138 households, with a population density of 335.2 people per square mile. This figure marked a significant increase from the 2000 census, when Altenburg had a population of 309. 99.15% of the inhabitants were White, 0.28% were African-American, and 0.57% were from two or more races.

The median age in Altenburg was 37.0 years, with 27.0% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 7.9% between 18 and 24 years old, 28.5% between 25 and 44, 23.0% between 45 and 64, and 13.6% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 48.6% male, 51.4% female.^[3]

According to the 2017 American Community Survey, Altenburg had a median household income of $60,385, and a median family income of $73,194. The unemployment rate was 0.4%. The per capita income was $22,405. About 3.5% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 0.8% of people under the age of 18 and 20.5% of people 65 years old or older.^[4]

Community Life[edit]

Altenburg is home to a K-8 public school, Altenburg Public School District 48, which has an enrollment of just under 100 students.^[5] Grades 9-12 go to school in Perryville. The most prominent church is Trinity Lutheran Church, part of the LCMS, whose congregation dates back to the original settlement in 1839. The Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum preserves the original log cabin structure that served as the first site of Concordia Seminary, along with several other buildings.

The community takes deep pride in its heritage as a center of German Lutheranism in America. Many of the older inhabitants are still able to speak a German dialect used by the Saxon emigrants in the 19th century.^[6] Altenburg is home to the East Perry Community Fair, held on the local fairgrounds every September and featuring agricultural displays, live music, and a carnival.^[7]

References[edit]