churches

Palestine Lutheran Church
Ellsworth Township
Circa 1930s

Palestine Lutheran Church restored.
Relocated to the Emmet County Historical Society Museum Complex.
Photo taken September 2005.

St. Patrick Catholic Church and Rectory in 1966 before being torn down.
Located at 740 S. 9th Street.
Copied from photo held at the Emmet County Historical Society Museum Complex.

Presbyterian Church, Estherville
Copied from postcard held at the Emmet County Historical Society Museum Complex.

Baptist Church, Estherville
Copied from photo held at the Emmet County Historical Society Museum Complex.

Methodist Episcopal Church, Estherville
Copied from photo held at the Emmet County Historical Society Museum Complex.

Hoprig Presbyterian Church circa 1903
Copied from photo held at the Emmet County Historical Society Museum Complex.

Dolliver United Methodist Church, year unknown.
Copied from photo held at the Emmet County Historical Society Museum Complex.

Dolliver Lutheran church closes after 65 years

Dolliver--After 65 years of ministry in the Dolliver community, the Dolliver Lutheran Church will have their final services at 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2000. Pastor Mathew Boedecker and Western Iowa Synod Bishop Curtis Miller will be in charge of services. There will be coffee and rolls following for a time of fellowship.

The beginning of this congregation goes back as far as 1930 when a minister from Ringsted came to conduct confirmation classes and the next year the Ladies Aid was formed. The Constitution of the Dolliver Lutheran Church was adopted on March 23, 1934 at which time it joined the Synod of the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. There were 24 charter members. After seven years of meeting in the Oddfellows Hall and the schoolhouse the faithful congregation dedicated their new church building on March 23, 1941. Dolliver Lutheran has always been too small to support their own pastor. A supply pastor came from St. Paul's of Ringsted until 1959 when arrangements were made with St. Peter Lutheran of Ceylon to supply us with a pastor.

It was decided a year ago that Jan. 30, 2000 would be closing day. Low attendance in all areas of the church is the main reason. Rural depopulation has been hard on small churches with Dolliver Lutheran only averaging 11 or so members a service.

In the 65 years of ministry there have been 156 baptisms, 157 confirmed, 35 marriages and 37 funerals. That is an excellent record for a church of this size in this small of a community. So despite it being a day of sadness, it will also be a day of celebration for the years of ministry that they did have.

Source: Estherville Daily News, Estherville, Emmet County, Iowa, January 15, 2000.

First Presbyterian Church of Armstrong, Iowa, taken before the steeple of the church was removed. This image was taken from a photo collection of the late Grace Eleanor (Clark) Richmond, i.e., Mrs. Walter Adam Richmond. Made available by her granddaughter Grace Eleanor (Richmond) {Plath} Tyler.

The first Presbyterian Church was organized October 30, 1901 and incorporated February 13, 1902, with George W. Holmes, Peter Tornell and Lewis H. Harris as trustees. The church building was erected about 1902.