J.W.C Dietrichson conducted the first worship service with communion on the Western part of the Koshkonong Prairie on Monday, September 2, 1844 under the oaks on the Knud Aslaksen Juve’s farm. A memorial marker was placed on the spot, however, the oaks are gone.
It is interesting to note that the West Koshkonong congregation has worshipped in three different buildings, all of which were erected on the very spot where the present church now stands.
THE LOG BUILDING
.The newly organized congregations met in the small homes of the families. At Dietrichson’s request a new place to worship was needed. Log buildings were built by East and West Koshkonong. To encourage the farmers in the work, Dietrichson even rolled up his sleeves and helped quarry stone for the foundation. It was erected of oak logs. The cost of the East building was $500, so we assume the cost of the West building was similar. On December 19, 1844, the 28’x36’ log church for West Koshkonong was dedicated. It was the first Norwegian American Lutheran church to stand dedicated in North America. East Koshkonong church was dedicated on January 31, 1845. Although the congregations are separate entities today, originally they were one congregation with two houses of worship. The buildings were very similar. By 1852, the little log building at West had become hopelessly small. The daily journal mentions several building committee meetings during 1852, but no record has been found of its deliberations. The last service in the log church was held August 15, 1852.
THE OCTAGON BUILDING
The octagon building was erected over the spot where the log church had stood. It is said that the log church was not dismantled until the walls were completed of the octagon building. Each of the eight sides was approximate thirty feet in length. This means the building had a diameter of about seventy-six feet and about four thousand five hundred square feet of floor space. Four huge pillars supported the roof and eight smaller oak pillars supported a balcony which extended three-quarters around the room. There is no record of the cost of the construction. The brick for this was hauled by horse drawn wagons or sleds from the neighboring towns. By examining pictures of the old church, (by Pastor Gerald Anderson) it is found that there were forty bricks per course across each side. The bricks appear to be the same size and shape as those used in the contemporary structures and a course of forty bricks today measures slightly under thirty feet. The other figures are based on simple mathematical formulas.
The walls of the church were about twenty-three feet high. Pictures taken by C. J. Felland before the building was demolished in 1893, show that there were only seven rows of pews from front to back, and that the balcony was attached to five of the eight walls. The first service in the octagon building was August 14, 1853. On the basis of the closing and opening dates for the log and octagon buildings, the lack of services at West church and the calculated dimensions of the building, it is difficult to accept Ylvisaker’s 1934 account (op. citl. P. 21) which says that the log building was not dismantled until the walls of the octagon building were completed, (Why would the construction require a year to complete after the walls were erected?) and that the octagon building could seat a thousand people. Some records say that it held 700-900 people while others say 1,000. By 1892, members of the congregation noticed serious cracks developing in the foundation of the octagon building. After hiring an architect who drew up plans to make the building safe again, the congregation could find no contractor willing to take on the job. Therefore at the annual meeting on March 7, 1893, they decided to build a new church home. The last service in the octagon building was held on May 22, 1893. Demolition began the next day. Edward Halverson, the general contractor from Rockdale, set the target date for the completion of the new building for December 1, 1893. In the meantime, the congregation worshiped in the Utica Seventh Day Baptist church building. The wrecking crew of Ole Bjoraas’ and Elias Larson, placed dynamite charges in the main support columns of the building to blow it apart. Little damage was done to the building with the exception of the roof, so they had to take care of the rest of it with picks and mauls. At the time the new building was being built, America was undergoing a very serious depression. To help cut down on the building costs, many of the farmers used their wagons to haul supplies from Stoughton. To raise the needed $11,800, two men from each trustee district solicited cash or notes. Even old church pews were sold to raise more money. The contractors finished with the basic work during the fall, but the congregation still had to put in the heating unit, stained glass windows, pews and chancel furnishing. The old baptismal font from the 1852 church building would stay. Pastor Krostu gave the pulpit; the young people gave the chandeliers; the Ladies’ Aid worked hard and earned enough to pay for the altar, its railing and painting; and to donate $500 toward the cost of the windows. The first service in the new building was held on Sunday December 24, 1893. Unfortunately, Krostu who had been eagerly anticipating this day, was not able to take part in the happy occasion. He was home, sick in bed. The congregation soon began to make plans to correlate the building’s dedication with the congregation’s fiftieth anniversary. On Sunday, September 2, 1894, the new church was dedicated in the forenoon with G. Hoyme, president of the “United Church” Synod, preaching on the same text Dietrichson had chosen for the dedication of the first church building. A half dozen pastors, including G. G. Felland, a son of the congregation, and O. M. Saevig, took part in the service. In the afternoon a large crowd gathered under the old oak tree where the first service had been held by Dietrichson fifty years earlier to the day. Although the congregation had to borrow three thousand dollars at eight percent interest to pay for the building, by February of 1899, the balance on the debt was only twenty dollars. The building was insured from the start at five thousand five hundred. It may seem strange to people today that the contractors could put up that structure in such a short time, but it should be remembered that at the time there was no basement; and no central heating, plumbing or electrical work. .
OUR PRESENT CHURH HOME WITH NEW ADDITION
By July of 1963 plans had begun to renovate the church sanctuary, expand the Narthex and add Sunday School rooms, a new office, and a lounge. In February of 1967, final plans were made for the major renovation and addition. Contracts were signed for the church home with Breiby Brothers Contractors; E & W Heating, Arnold’s Electric, and Zeibell Plumbing. Many members got together to do virtually all of the painting and tile laying in addition to installation of the suspended old basement ceiling. A. L. C. W. selects and pays for carpeting. May of 1968 the project was completed at a total cost of about $145,000