Four Mile Lutheran Church - Mabank, TX - Country Churches on Waymarking.com

The church is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and the Texas Historical Marker in front of the church is brief:

Congregation established 1848. Successive churches erected in 1854, 1875, 1941, 1955. Texas' first Norwegian Lutheran Church.

The church website has a more thorough history, by Betty Ann Gunderson Vowell Freeman Trednick (slightly edited):

The 1848 Norwegian settlers named the settlement Four Mile Prairie because they found the prairie to be four miles long and four miles wide. It’s the prairie that gave the community, cemetery, and church their names, Prairieville, Four Mile Cemetery, and Four Mile Lutheran Church, respectively.

Four Mile is a community cemetery that is owned by Four Mile Lutheran Church. "Four Milers" take great pride in it. Please read the book, "Four Mile", by Martin Jenson, for lots of history.

The oldest unmarked grave is that of Johan Staach 1846. I believe this to be a typo graphical error because the settlers didn’t come to Four Mile until the end of 1847. The oldest marked grave is that of Johan Reierson’s wife, Henrietta Reierson, who died 7 Jan. 1851. She was first buried on the Jack Rand Farm, in Prairieville, and later moved to Four Mile Cemetery along with her husband Johan and others.

Elise Warenskjold, [pronounced “vanshaw”], from Norway, deeded two acres, more or less, for a graveyard and a place of worship. She was the author of "Lady with a Pen." This book has a wealth of information in it. She came to America in 1847, and to Four Mile at the end of 1847. The cemetery deed is on file at the Van Zandt County TX courthouse.

In the 1970’s, Victor Wattner donated an acre of land on the north to enlarge the cemetery. He did this in memory of his parents, Fred and Lula Wattner. This acre is in the W.T. Brewer survey, and it belonged to Douglas {Dutch} Norman. Victor Wattner simply traded him another acre elsewhere For it.

The Fourth of July celebration used to be held for a "graveyard working." The ladies prepared food and later in the day there were games, singing, contests, and speech making. In later years a church service was added to the celebration and this custom continues today. A special offering is taken that day for the upkeep of the cemetery. A perpetual care fund was started many years ago by the Wattner descendants, Mary Kay Davis, and others. In July 1970, $1000.00 was received from the will of R. W. Reierson, and became a part of the perpetual care fund.

Bobo and Nettie Gunderson Oldfield were the caretakers for many years, then Robert and Kathryn Manning, then Bill and Betty Freeman with Everett and Arleta Still. After that, Clint Camp was next, then Graham Delk, and now Jean Holloway and her son.

There are many unmarked graves in the cemetery and the record book, "Four Mile Lutheran Church July 4, 1964", by Dorothy Albertson, says there are many Americans and strangers buried along with the Norwegians....SOME outside the fence. We have now found that to mean outside the back fence on the east, which has now been added to the rest of the cemetery. When the cemetery was surveyed it was found that 1/6 acre, or {53.84’x 134’} of the cemetery was outside the back southeast corner. In order to then square up the cemetery on the east, an additional amount was purchased from Jack Madera. The church paid $2500.00 for the small plot! The reason the church paid for this is because 1/2 acre which Victor Wattner had donated to the cemetery was added to the church yard. A memorial marker has been purchased to sit on the 1/6 acre. It is a memorial for all the unmarked graves. Sections 6,7, and 8 will be platted on the plot purchased from Jack Madera.

Records of funerals indicate that there were lots of difficult cases of childbirth long ago. There are many babies buried at Four Mile and records where the mother and infant would both die and sometimes be buried together. Parents and others baptized the babies, conducted funeral services, with the committal held over until a pastor could come. Together they sang, confessed their faith, offered their prayers, instructed the young, and read the sermons. They did not take it upon themselves to officiate at the Lord’s Supper however.

During the Civil War, a pastor from the Norwegian synod up north came to Four Mile and had a number of committal services in the cemetery. Funerals are recorded as far back as 1847 in the old record book. The record book was in Norwegian, and was in very poor condition, but Martin and Valborg Jenson translated it into English. What an enormous contribution this was! Dorothy Albertson got the 98 pages made into books, which were available on July 4, 1964. I thank God for these dedicated individuals for without their efforts; I would not have very much information to pass on. Copies of this book are in the Dallas Library, Clifton Museum, American Lutheran Archives, Canton Genealogy Library, Mabank Library, church library, and others.

At a funeral service of one of the dignitaries of the Lutheran Church, the speaker, who was eloquent in both English and Norwegian, spoke as follows: "Our friend who went to California for his health, went out one day, as the weather was nice, without his overcoat, but it turned cold, and he became ill, and so passed on to his reward. Thank the Lord he is now in a place where he does not need an overcoat!" When the Norwegian pastors began using English they did have a few difficulties, like the one who was asked to say a few words in English for a funeral of a military man. After the full liturgy in Norwegian, sermon, hymns, and all, he took off his robe, stepped down from the chancel and started in "I tell you, this dying is no joke." As he went on he said, "Our friend is here, what we see is only a shell, the nut has gone to heaven." He then concluded, "While the corpse plays, we will view the remnants." These stories are supposed to be true!

The first record in English of a funeral was in 1919 for Thorvald Wattner, who was an uncle of mine. He and his wife, Constance Pauline Gunderson Wattner, died the same night of the flu, leaving 5 small children. This does not mean there were no funerals in English before this, it just means the record was made in Norsk.

A lot of effort goes into keeping Four Mile Cemetery as it should be kept. I have attempted to include as much information as possible about the persons buried here. Hopefully, someone will pick up where and when I can no longer keep the records.

Church Name: Four Mile Lutheran Church Church In Use (even only just occassionally): yes Date Church Built: 1955 Rate this church.:

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