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Trinity Lutheran Church, rural Reeseville

Trinity to Observe 150th Anniversary

09 16 2008

Trinity Lutheran Church, rural Reeseville, will commemorate the church's 150th anniversary on Sept. 21, with a special church service beginning at 10 a.m.

The church is located at N2296 Highway I, four miles south of Reeseville. The public is welcome.

Trinity was organized in August, 1858. Most of the area's early settlers southwest of Reeseville were German immigrants, and in spring 1855 they asked the Rev. A. Wagner, the first resident pastor of St. John's Church in Watertown, to preach to them. For a time, services were held in a nearby public school or at the home of one of the members.

During Wagner's pastorate Trinity Lutheran Congregation was organized, with 1858 recognized as the date of the church's inception.

The first church was built in 1861. An 18-by 28-foot, wooden structure, it was built on land donated by John Michael Kohn, with each member providing a share of the lumber.

When the congregation outgrew that church and built another house of worship, the original church was used for Sunday School classes for a time. That building still stands on the church property. Church memorabilia and items from the church's history will be housed in the building and available for viewing during Sunday's anniversary celebration.

Among items on display will be a 1930s quilt, with squares embroidered with the names of all the members of the congregation at that time. The Mennicke family, whose father Rev. V. A. W. Mennicke at one time served as Trinity's pastor, has loaned the quilt to the church for exhibit during the anniversary.

Two other quilts dating back to 1939 will also be on display on Sunday, along with a new wall hanging made by Anna Schultz listing all the congregation's current members.

The church's first parsonage, a two-story log house, was built when Trinity's first resident pastor, Rev. Frederick Hachenberger, served the congregation from 1864-1869. That building housed the church's pastor for 38 years.

As the congregation grew, a larger church was needed. Congregation members again provided the needed lumber and purchased 70,000 Watertown brick for the 32-by-55-by-18-foot structure. Dedicated in 1871, the building cost $2,350 and included a balcony in the rear and on both sides.

Original documents of the congregation were placed in a gilded ball on top of the steeple, but in 1890 lightning struck the steeple and destroyed the papers.

During the next 25 years, the church purchased additional land south of the parsonage and added a frame kitchen to the parsonage, as well as a horse barn.

In 1877 the congregation joined the Missouri Synod as a voting member. The pastor also conducted services in the village of Reeseville and was instrumental in organizing Immanuel Lutheran Church there.

Two bells, purchased from a Tomah church for $53.23, were installed in the steeple. Those bells still serve the congregation.

The interior of the church was redecorated in 1904, along with the installation of art glass windows. A new two-story frame parsonage was built in 1905, and in 1908 the church purchased a pipe organ to replace the melodeon used since 1878. The organ required a person to pump its bellows, and numerous men in the congregation had that task until a motor was added in 1924.

Until 1927, services were conducted almost exclusively in German. Beginning that year, English and German services were held on alternate Sundays, and starting in 1940 only the last Sunday of the month was a German service. German language services were discontinued in the late 1940s.

Over the years, the church was renovated and redecorated several times. A balcony was constructed at the west end of the church, with a large organ chamber in one corner and the organ console in the other. A nursery room and spacious vestibule were built, and a 14-by-16-foot aspe and sacristy were added.

A new entryway and parish hall were added and dedicated in 1979.

The church's current pastor, Rev. Matthew Martin, was installed in 2006.

In conjunction with the 150th observance, the church chancel was redecorated and new lighting installed, the parsonage was updated, and the original church was refurbished.

Cross Reference:

Index to the 125th Anniversary book