The Old Muskego Church, constructed of oak logs with walnut furnishings, was the first Norwegian Lutheran church built in the United States. It is a National Historic Register property and as such receives special care and use.
The area of Muskego, near Wind Lake, Wisconsin, was first settled by Norwegians in the late 1830s. 聽The congregation was organized in 1843, when Danish schoolteacher Claus Lauritz Clausen (1820-1892) was ordained as the first pastor; Clausen served there until 1846. 聽The log church was built on 鈥淚ndian Hill,鈥 previously a sacred site for the Potawatomi who had by then been displaced. 聽Construction began in 1844 and took a year due to shortage of funds. 聽It was dedicated on Palm Sunday, March 13, 1845; Clausen gave dedicatory sermon. 聽The building was used for 25 years before being superseded by the new church completed in 1871.
The Old Muskego Church was dismantled in 1904 and moved to Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, where it was reconstructed and restored by Charles L. Jacobson. 聽It was added to the list of Minnesota State Historical Sites in 1935 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Scope and content
The collection contains records and publications relating to the history of Muskego Lutheran Church. 聽Minute books of church trustees (1849-1922). 聽Record book and guestbook (1905-1938); guestbooks (1976-1991). 聽Photographs of the church. 聽Newspaper clippings and magazine articles about the church. 聽Literature recounting the church鈥檚 history, including pamphlets, anniversary booklets, and family histories of prominent members of the congregation. 聽Books on the history of the congregation: 聽Stangeland Einung Korn酶 by Alice Stangland Kirn; In Jesus鈥 Name Shall All Our Work Be Done by Karen Hanson. 聽A complete magazine issue, featuring an article on the Muskego church: 聽Log Home D茅cor, #5 (1993). 聽Early materials in Norwegian or Dano-Norwegian with partial translation; later materials in English. 聽Minute books and 1905 record book in original binding and quite fragile.