The German Evangelical Church Society of the West ("Der Deutsche Evangelische Kirchenverein des Westens") was founded on October 15, 1840, at "Deutsche Evangelische St. Johannes Gemeinde Zu Gravois Settlement Missouri". St. Johns Evangelical United Church of Christ (as it is known today) had been founded in 1838 by newly arrived German immigrants. They were living in a wilderness farming community a day's journey south of St. Louis. The small congregation built a church out of logs by hand on this hill. A memorial was erected in 1925 commemorating the founding of the Evangelical Synod of North America and still stands today in front of the church.