78 Old Salem Church - Inver Grove Heights, MN
Posted by: 
DougK
N 44° 52.154 W 093° 04.522
15T E 494046 N 4968426
Old Salem Church, organized in the winter of 1857, was the first Evangelical congregation in Dakota County.
Waymark Code: WM99X4
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 07/19/2010
Views: 12
From the Minnesota United Methodist Historic Sites
website:
Old Salem Church, organized in the winter of 1857, was the first Evangelical congregation in Dakota County. In 1855, two Canadian families (Gackstetter and Laschinger) acquired farm land in the county and promptly requested ministerial leadership. The 1856 Wisconsin conference of the Evangelical Church assigned Andrew Tarnutzer to the Minnesota Territory. By March of 1857, he had organized class meetings in both Inver Grove and Dayton's Bluff.
A small framed building (two windows, one door, several benches, pump organ, two wood burning stoves) sufficed until 1874 when a new church (20' x 32') was built. The first camp meeting was held between July 1 and 6, 1857, involving seven tents, two covered wagons, and nine conversions. Founders' Day is observed yearly in the month of June. For more information about Old Salem Church, contact Jill Lewis at (651) 455-9404.
Directions: Old Salem is located south of I-494 at the intersection of Upper 55th St. and Annette Ave. between Robert St. and Babcock Trail; From I-494 take Hwy. 52 south to Upper 55th St. (Salem Church Road); west 2 miles to Old Salem, located on the south shore of Schmidt Lake.