EARLY CHURCHES WEST OF THE CATAWBA RIVER I am making a list of locations where the early settlers began to meet in order to provide them with their Religious needs. There is no doubt that as long as I work to attempt to cover all the individual Congregations and locations I may find another group that needs to at least be mentioned. There is no publication or listing that I have found which covers the early Lutheran and German Reformed Churches as they were formed in this area of western North Carolina. Chapter - 1. Beaver Dam - St. Marks , Crouse, N.C. Chapter - 2. Bethel Lutheran Church, Iron Station, N.C. Chapter - 3. White Haven, Lowesville, N.C.(1794) Chapter - 4. St. James Lutheran, North of Cherryville, Lincoln County. Chapter - 5. Luther's Chapel, on Highway 321 North of Lincolnton, N.C. Chapter - 6. Haas Church - St. James Lutheran Church, South East of Newton, N.C. The Reformed Members organized Grace Reformed Church in Newton, N.C. Chapter - 7. Old Salem, Catawba County, N.C. The Cemetery for this Church is located south of River Bend Road between Bethel Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) and Highway NC 16 North of Conover. This location is just south of the Catawba River at the head-waters of Lake Look Out. Chapter - 8. Salem, North of Taylorsville, N.C. Chapter - 9. St. Luke's Lutheran, north of Kings Mountain, N.C. Chapter - 10. South Fork - St. Paul's Lutheran-Reformed, Newton, N.C.(1768) Chapter - 11. Concordia Lutheran, Conover, N.C. Chapter - 12. St. John's Lutheran, Conover, N.C. North of Conover, N.C. Chapter - 13, Bethel Lutheran, Claremont, N.C. Chapter - 14. St. Peters Lutheran, Conover, N.C. Chapter - 15. St. Paul's Lutheran, Alamance County, N.C. Historian R.D.W. Conner states that there was at least one Lutheran Congregation on Haw River as early as 1745. (North Carolina) Vol. I. p. 159. Chapter - 16.Low's Lutheran, Burlington, N.C. (1745) Chapter - 17.Frieden's Lutheran, Gibsonville, N.C. (1745) Chapter - 18. St. John's Church, Buffalo Creek, Cabarrus County, N.C. (1745) Chapter - 19. Bethel Church, near Long Shoals, N.C. (1790) Chapter - 20. Daniel's Lincoln County, N.C. (1774) Chapter - 21. White Church - Emmanuel Lutheran, Lincolnton, N.C. (1787) Chapter - 22. Grace, Catawba County (1797) Chapter - 23. Kastners - Philadelphia, Gaston County (1767) Chapter - 24. Salem, Lincoln County (1796) (Located on the Present Startown road. Chapter - 25. St. John's Catawba County (1799) Chapter - 26. Lebanon -St. Luke's - Ore Bank Lincoln County Chapter - 27. Zion, Catawba County, N.C. (1790) Chapter - 28. St. Matthews Reformed, located South-East of Maiden, N.C. I welcome you to share with me any information about members of your family who was active in any of these early congregations as well as others that might be added to this list. I have some publications from the Lutheran and the Reformed Churches of North Carolina. I will be happy to include your name and give proper credit for information received. Thank you in advance for your assistance in this project. Pat C. Cloninger