CHURCHES OF PALO ALTO COUNTY
From Atlas of Palo Alto County
Compiled 1969 by Title Atlas Company; Minneapolis, Minnesota

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH
EMMETSBURG, IOWA

     The first service for an Episcopal congregation in this area was held in the Methodist Church in "old Emmetsburg" in the spring of 1873. A missionary clergyman, the Rev. Richard Mahaus of Philadelphia, officiated at this initial service.
     Five years passed before the next service was held on the 6th Sunday after Trinity, July 28, 1878. This service was again in the Methodist Church, with the Rev. Hale Townsend, an Episcopal missionary priest stationed at Charles City, officiating. A mission church was organized under his direction, and services on a monthly schedule were held in the Methodist Church. The first celebration of the Holy Communion was held Aug. 18, 1878.
     During the first 4 months of 1879, the monthly services were held in the Odd Fellows Hall, and then in the local school building. Then, on April 15, 1879, the parish was organized and incorporated under the laws of the state of Iowa. The name and title: The Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of the Trinity Church, in the town of Emmetsburg, County of Palo Alto, and State of Iowa. The first vestry included Messrs. T.R. Crawford, E.J. Hartshorn, J.J. Robbins, A.L. Ormsby, and F.C. Burley.
     A subscription list for a church building was opened and, in June, 1879, T.R. Crawford, senior warden, was appointed lay-reader, and services were held in his home during the absence of the Rev. Mr. T. Townsend, and until the opening of the new edifice.
     On July 28, 1879, the cornerstone for the new Trinity Church was laid. The lot on which the church was erected was presented to the congregation by Judge Call of Algona. The property was given with the stipulation that the church building would be erected before the 1st of Jan., 1881. The Rev. Hale Townsend and the Rev. J.S. Teukes of Des Moines officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony. In the cornerstone were placed the names of the vestrymen, some then current coins, copies of the county papers of the preceding week, and a history of Palo Alto County.
     In Dec., 1878, three lots, Nos. 4, 5 and 6 of Block 27 of Corbin and Lawler Addition were purchased, probably for a church site, but a rectory was built there. This continued as a church property until sold to St. Thomas Catholic Church Jan 24, 1955.
     On Oct. 20, 1879, the Rev. Townsend was elected rector of Trinity Parish, and on Dec. 28th of that year, the church was opened for services. A regular weekly worship schedule was now set up. The Rev. Mr. Townsend, who was still assisting congregations in other towns, held one service monthly, while the remaining Sunday services were conducted by lay-readers from the local congregation. The Rt. Rev. William Stevens Perry, well-known historian, and second Bishop of the Diocese of Iowa, made his first official visitation to Trinity Parish in July, 1880. The church school was also organized in 1880.
     It was not, however, until Aug. 7, 1881, that the church was consecrated , and at this time, the property was deeded to the trustees of Dunds and Donations of the Diocese of Iowa. The Rev. Townsend left Emmetsburg in Sept., 1881, and tendered his resignation the following January.
     Lay services were still continued, and the Rev. S.H. Johnston, the missionary at Spencer, held services the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month, while the Rev. W.W. Estabrooke, D.D., conducted services on the 4th Sunday of each month.
     The church was closed during July and Aug., 1882, after being damaged rather badly by a tornado on June 24, 1882. The present spire of the church was added at the time these repairs were made.
     In April, 1883, the Rev. S.H. Johnston resigned, but the Rev. Mr. Estabrooke continued his monthly services. During Aug., that year, services were conducted by the Rev. Mr. Bell of Iowa City.
     From 1883, for a period of 10 years, the church was served by a rapid succession of priests. A call was extended to and accepted by the Rev. Archibald Van Antwerp of East Des Moines. He entered upon the charge Sept. 1, 1883, resigning Nov. 10, to be followed by several pastors.
     In 1888, the local congregation joined with the Episcopal Congregation in Spirit Lake in securing the Rev. Robert J. Walker to serve both missions. During the next 5 years, the church was served by two priests: the Rev. Lyman Parker McDonald, who resigned in 1891 due to ill health of his wife; and the Rev. Joseph DeForest. Also, during this period, Mr. T.R. Crawford, senior warden since the organization of the parish, and Mr. J.J. Robbins, also senior warden and member of the initial vestry, as well as superintendent of the church school, died.
     On Dec. 3, 1893, the Rev. W.T. Jackson, Ph.D., of Iowa City, held services here, and in Algona the following week. He was extended a call and accepted the rectorship of the parish. At this time, Trinity Church and St. Thomas Church, Algona, were jointly supporting Dr. Jackson. This practice was discontinued, and Dr. Jackson soon assumed full-time responsibility for the local congregation. On Oct. 7, 1894, Dr. Jackson was ordained priest here in Trinity Church by the Rt. Rev. W.S. Perry. Dr. S.W. Watson presented the candidate and preached the ordination sermon. The Venerable I. McElroy, Archdeacon of Waverly, was also present and assisted in the service. At this time also, the Bishop appointed Dr. Jackson to serve on the Board of Examining Chaplains of the Diocese of Iowa. On Dec. 1, 1909, Dr. Jackson resigned, to be followed by Rev. H.M. Babin and the Rev. Charles Maltas.
     It was in Oct., 1915, that Dr. LeRoy Titus Weeks became rector and served the parish for the next 10 years. He was an outstanding individual, beloved by all the townfolk, as well as by his own parishioners.
     Two Englishmen followed him: The Rev. Joseph Snowden, and the Rev. F. Thorwald Eller; and both of them were called back to serve their family parishes in England.
     Through the depression years, the parish became a mission, aided by the diocese, and a succession of men, living at either Spencer or Estherville acted as priests-in-charge. Most of these men served four cures: Spencer, Estherville, Algona and Emmetsburg. This dropped to 3 when Estherville and Sprit Lake were given a priest of their own.
     The church rectory was again used, having been rented in the meantime, when one priest was put in charge of Spencer, Algona and Emmetsburg. The Rev. Paul J. Davis of Cedar Rapids, just out of seminary and newly married, came to Trinity in the Fall of 1949. Father Davis is now the Executive Secretary of the Diocese of Iowa.
     The church school and church were growing, and plans were made for a parish hall, to be built on to the north wall of the church. This was built by the Jackson Construction Co., newly organized by Wm. and Robins Jackson, grandsons of the Rev. W.T. Jackson.
     Negotiations had been going on for some time over the sale of the old rectory, and when the Rev. Kent Pineo came in July, 1954, an apartment was rented for him and his bride, and the rectory was sold to St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church. The Rev. Mr. Pineo was ordained to the priesthood in Trinity Church Feb. 2, 1955, and in Sept. , 1956, he left to work with young people in Tenn.
     In July, 1957, the Rev. Donald E. Baustian, Deacon, took over services and a new rectory was purchased at 803 State Street. The Rev. Mr. Baustian was then ordained to the Priesthood at St. Thomas Church in Algona in Dec., 1957, and continued to serve both in Algona and Emmetsburg until June, 1964, when he moved to Fairfield.
     Fr. Baustian was succeeded by the Rev. Milo D. Dailey, Deacon, who resided in Algona, but continued the arrangement of serving the congregations in both towns. The Rev. Mr. Dailey was ordained to the priesthood in Trinity Church, by the Rt. Rev. Gordon V. Smith, Bishop of the Diocese of Iowa, in Dec., 1964.
     Father Dailey resigned his position here in June, 1968, and on July 1, 1968, the Rev. Thomas W. Gwinn, Deacon, from Sioux City, arrived to take charge. He and his wife are living in the vicarage at 803 State. Father Gwinn is also serving St. Thomas Church in Algona.
     (The above history was submitted by The Rev. Thomas W. Gwinn, with editing by Title Atlas Co.)