New Bielau: Trinity Church and Community Center

Wood frame church with bell tower in front, nicely landscaped area with tall trees next to church

Trinity Church

Metal archway saying New Bielau Cemetery

New Bielau Cemetery, adjacent to Trinity Church

windows and sign painted on entrance saying New Bielau-Content Community Center

New Bielau Community Center

Workers putting a new roof on New Bielau-Content Community Center

New Bielau Community Center getting a new roof, 1955. (Nesbitt Memorial Library Archives)

Group of children and adults posing for a photo with a sign saying Content School, April 1913

Students, teacher, and trustees of Content School in New Bielau, April 21, 1913. (Nesbitt Memorial Library Archives)

Gottfried Gerstenberger came from nearby Industry to what in the 1860s was called “Prairie Community”, followed by his parents and brother. He renamed the new community New Bielau after Langenbielau, Germany. Six families formed the nucleus of Trinity Church in 1886, constructing a building two years later. Its 425-pound church bell, which dates to 1896, still rings in the steeple today.

In 1916, a casino hall society was formed in New Bielau, and today the New Bielau Community Center hosts  weddings, reunions, and other events. New Bielau is closely associated with the communities of Weimar and Content, with whom it shares a school district.

Trinity Church and Community Center

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