Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Dakota City, NE - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

This little white church, built in 1860 with Greek Revival architectural elements, is preserved as a museum.

A Nebraska Historical Marker at the site summarizes the church's history: "Near here stands the first Lutheran church building constructed in Nebraska. It has occupied this site since 1860.

The congregation was first served by Reverend Henry W. Kuhns, a missionary sent by the Allegheny Synod to Nebraska Territory. Kuhns preached his first sermon in the front room of the Bates House (hotel) in November 1850 and formally organized the church on July 22, 1859.

The membership immediately made plans for building, but their effort of moving an abandoned store from the abandoned town of Pacific City was frustrated when the structure was destroyed by a prairie fire while being moved to Dakota City.

This church was designed and built by Augustus T. Haase, a local carpenter and member of the Emmanuel Lutheran congregation, at a cost of $2,000. For several years the building also served periodically as a Territorial courthouse, with religious services being held on Sunday as usual. Samuel Aughey, a leading scientist of the period, was the second pastor to serve the church.

This old church still stands as a monument to the steadfastness of purpose of the early settler and as a symbol of pioneer religious life."

The church is maintained by the Dakota County Historical Society. It is not open on a regularly scheduled basis but special events are held there from time to time.

Street address: 1500 Hickory ST. Dakota City, NE USA 68731 County / Borough / Parish: Dakota Year listed: 1969 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1850-1874 Historic function: Government, Religion Current function: Recreation And Culture/ Museum Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2008 To: 12/31/2008 Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Privately owned?: Not Listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/13/2012 wildernessmama visited it