#44 Lutheran Names
In the late nineteenth century, a number of Germans migrated to Arkansas, and most of these settlers were Lutheran. The best-known settlement that they established is Stuttgart, one of the county seats of Arkansas County. The group settled at Gum Pond, but their pastor, Georg Adam Buerkle, instead renamed it for the German city whence many had come. The Johnson County town of Lutherville was established in 1882 by other German Lutherans, as was the Saline County town of Germania. During World War I, anti-German sentiment led to violence in Lutherville. The residents of Germania, to avoid similar problems, changed their town’s name to Vimy Ridge, in honor of a recent battlefield victory by Canadian troops fighting in France. This resulted in one less Lutheran name in Arkansas and the only Vimy Ridge in all of North America, including Canada.
Daniel Boice
University of Arkansas at Monticello