FIRST LUTHERAN CEMETERY

A Brief History of First Lutheran Church

The original church structure, built in 1850, was a log building measuring 18’ X 28’ and 10 feet high to the eaves, located at this cemetery. The first congregation did not have a full time pastor. What they had was a traveling pastor, Rev. Eielson, who promised to visit them as often as possible. The congregation nevertheless met for services weekly and a lay person would read a sermon. The first resident pastor was Rev. Peter Thompson in 1863. In 1870, a second building, a frame structure was erected on the site of the present church, one mile south of this cemetery. Due to the shape of the church, it was nicknamed “The Frame Church” for many years. It was later destroyed by a storm and rebuilt. The present church was built in 1924. At its height in 1884, there were 538 baptized souls. In 1939 came Bethany Lutheran, a mile south of First Lutheran. The church was originally named “Stavanger Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation.” That name was often confused with a neighbor church to north, so in 1942 the name was changed to First Lutheran Church. The First Lutheran congregation chose its name because it was the first Lutheran church in Fayette County, the first Lutheran church of Norwegian decent in the State of Iowa, and quite possibly the first Norwegian Lutheran church west of the Mississippi. The records for the first 20 years of the First Lutheran 1850-1870 were lost, therefore there is a probability that more people are buried here in addition to those listed, but there is no way of knowing names.


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