St. Hans Lutheran Church
48°27'21.7"N 98°23'25.8"W
48.456020, -98.390490
72nd Street NE & North Dakota Highway 1
Edmore, Ramsey County, North Dakota 58330
48°27'21.7"N 98°23'25.8"W
48.456020, -98.390490
72nd Street NE & North Dakota Highway 1
Edmore, Ramsey County, North Dakota 58330
The Hepper Olson Church Plate Collection
St. Hans. Church
As the Newland Township prairie filled with homesteaders there was a need to civilize the area by forming churches and schools without delay. A large group of settlers met Jan. 21, 1899, at the Haaken Nabben home and decided to organize a congregation, which consisted of 24 families.
This first group decided the congregation should be called St. Hans Norsk Evangelical Lutherske Menighed and called Rev. A. J. Krogstad to serve as minister for $60 per year. The first trustees elected were: Hans Fjone, Ole Landsem, Laurils Regelstad, Haaken Nabben (secretary) and Telliev Fjalstad (treasurer).
The first members pledging to support the congregation were: Ole O., Ole T., and Nils Oie, John and Nils Myrvik, John, Ole and John J. Landsem, Bortinus Anderson, Sigvald Sigvaldson, Edward Anderson, Laurits Regelstad, Johan and Hans Foseide, Ole Korsmo, Albert Barstad, Haaken Nabben, Halvor Sanderson, Tarjei Midjaas, Telliev Fjalstad, Engebret and Helmer Danielson, Hans lngolfsland, Theodor Thorson, Kittel Anderson, Alfred Nordland, Martin Kittelson, Ole lngulsrud, Ole Elshaug, Karl A. Slaamot, John O.S. Johnson, S. P. Solberg, Hans and Ole Fjone, Martin Thompson, Jergen Torkelson, Karl Johnson, Ludvig Dammen, Syvar G. Luroas, Thorlaker Jonassen, Magnus Martinson, and Ole G . Sandbek.
Rev. Krogstad managed to hold services once a month in the sod or log homes. He performed baptisms, marriages, and burials on the same day and recorded seven baptisms during his year of service. In July 1899, religious instruction classes started with Ole Sandbek as leader.
Rev. Krogstad was a small man with a booming voice who delivered a powerful sermon in Norwegian. He acted as chairman at the first annual meeting Dec. 4, 1899, at the John Landsem home. The congregation had $56.75 in their treasury which was paid to the minister for his year of service. They were $3.25 short for the salary payment and struggled to collect the remainder.
At the first annual meeting, Hans lngolfsland, Ole Fjone and Laurits Regelstad were elected to call a permanent minister for $200 a year. Rev. Johannes B. Byberg accepted the call and remained with the congregation until 1918. The only resident pastor of St. Hans, Rev. Byberg built a home a half mile from the church and proceeded to minister to his flock and help build their church through many good deeds. Some of his sermons were preached in the "south" schoolhouse in Highland Township.
The congregation selected a site for the graveyard and eventual church yard and purchased three acres on the north side of the NE¼ of Section 4 from John J. Landsem. Landsem waited four and one-half years before he received any payment on this parcel. No interest was charged.
Money in the amount of $1,500 had been collected through subscriptions for a church. In 1905, a building committee consisting of Rev. Byberg, Sigvald Sigvaldson and John Myrvik presented plans for a church. Early in 1906, work started on the church. A stone foundation was built by John Christopherson, assisted by John Landsem. Carpenters John and Helmer Carlson and Sigvald Sigvaldson, assisted by John Myrvik, built the church. Many others donated hours of work.
Services were held in the church although the interior was not completed until 1909. The interior, finished with wallpaper, tin and wainscoting, was heated by two coal stoves and people sat on plank and keg benches until oak pews were installed many years later. Gas lanterns suspended from ceiling poles lit the church until 1945 when a power plant was installed. Electricity arrived in 1950.
In 1913, the West Circle Ladies Aid ordered a bell from St. Louis, Mo. The ladies misunderstood the price of the bell and when the bill arrived, they were dumbfounded! Their funds only paid for the bell frame-not the bell! A violinist, Halvor Barstad selected the tone for the bell in the key of "P' as he was blind and had a good "ear." Bortenus Anderson was the first "Klokker'' as he had been a bell ringer in Norway.
Gena Bjornson was the first organist. Others serving in this capacity were: Mabel Barstad, Amanda, Esther and Gertrude Boe, Joanne Stensland and Pamela Landsem, the last organist.
Improvements to the church were made as money permitted. In 1924, a magnificent oak altar and rail were added. A basement was dug for $3,000 in 1938.
Services were conducted in Norwegian until the 1940s, about the same time the church women were allowed to vote and sit with their husbands in church. Prior to this, women and children sat on one side of the church and the men on the other side.
Rev. E. O. Ulring replaced Rev. Byberg, ministering until 1926. He was followed by Rev. G. A. Larson until 1930, then Rev. Joseph Fjalstad until 1933. In 1932, St. Hans joined with Concordia Lutheran Church in Edmore to call pastors.
St. Hans was always a breath-taking silhouette against the landscape. A well-known photo of this church was taken by Dick Brown in the 1980s and is exhibited in the Smithsonian Institute.
The congregation of St. Hans was a closely knit group, dedicated to God and His work. Due to declining numbers in 1981, the congregation voted to dissolve with its members joining either Edmore or Fairdale Lutheran Churches.
God must not have liked to see His house stand empty. On Sunday afternoon, Sept. 21, 1986, lightning struck the church steeple, and the resultant fire destroyed the church. The only item to be salvaged was the bell which remained intact after its fall to the basement. The frame was cracked and broken.
GHM
St. Hans Ladies Aid
The "Kvindeforening" of St. Hans was established Jan. 25, 1900, at the home of Anna Korsmoe who was elected president that day. Mrs. Ole O. Oie, Mrs. Ingeborg Bjerkan, Mrs. Severt Oakland and Rev. Byberg, elected as treasurer, were also at the meeting. Joining at the next meeting at the Ole O. Oie home were Mrs. Anton Boe, Mrs. Ole Kirkreit, Mrs. Bortinus Anderson, Mrs. Ole Landsem, Mrs. John Landsem, Mrs. Randi Graving, Mrs. J. O. Johnson, Gertie and Gunhild Sandbek and Mrs. Martin Olson.
As most of the ladies lived on the east side of the township, they called themselves the "East Ladies Aid." Their first auction was held Jan. 26, 1901, at Rev. Byberg 's home with the pastor acting as auctioneer. Mrs. Byberg took off her apron, allowing it to be auctioned to increase the profits. When the church was built, East Aid gave $500 to the cause. It took many hours of hard work, auctions and dinners to raise so much money.
The Halvor Sanderson log house was the organizational place for the West Ladies Aid in 1904. Sophia Sanderson was elected president, Mrs. Ole Barstad, vice president, and Rev. Byberg received another treasurer's job. Those who joined were Mrs. Martin Kittelson, Mrs. T.O. Fjalstad, Mrs. Ole Barstad, Mrs. Aadne Anderson, Mrs. Olaf Halvorson, Mrs. Targe Fjone, and There Fjone. Mrs. John Stensland, Mrs. Targei Midjaas, Mrs. John Boe and Mrs. Hans Bjornson joined a short while later. Their first auction sale, consisting of quilts, fancy work, etc., was held at the Sanderson home with Halvor as auctioneer.
In 1922, the East and West groups united to form St. Hans Ladies Aid. They continued to work hard and lost $358.97 when the First National Bank in Edmore closed in 1930. Their reimbursement by dividend was 15 per cent. The ladies kept working, serving dinners on Thanksgiving, and any other way to raise funds. One of their final projects was a St. Hans commemorative plate which sold for $6.
The ladies paid for parochial school and helped teach Sunday School. What a thrill it was for them to meet in the new church basement on Nov. 19, 1939. Having a nice place to serve boosted their enthusiasm.
A charter written in 1939 stated the purpose of the Ladies Aid as such, "To unite all women of the congregation in cooperation for the missions and charities and to work for the good of the local congregation." The St. Hans Church women were faithful to this charter as long as the church existed, and have joined circles in Edmore and Fairdale, where they continue their good works in the name of the Lord.
GHM
St. Hans Cemetery
St. Hans Cemetery is located on the same three acres where the church was built. There seems to be some discrepancy between the time the cemetery was selected and when the first burial occurred. The first recorded burial is that of Ole A. Korsmoe on Nov. 21,1899. The church records seem to indicate that the site was not selected until January 1900. It is suspected that two or three burials may have occurred before Korsmoe was buried.
Ole Korsmoe was buried in the extreme southwest corner of the cemetery with a huge monument marking the site. Many years later, his remains were disinterred and moved elsewhere.
Another reason to believe the cemetery site was selected earlier is that the area was fenced in 1899 according to the minutes. Ole Korsmoe offered to get posts and wire and haul it. Ole could hardly accomplish this after his death! The cemetery was fenced with cedar posts and five wires at the cost of $25. Theodore Thorson, John Foseide and Hans Nabben were the committee for the project.
Before 1912, all the burials were located along the east, south, and west perimeter of the cemetery as it was not divided into plats. Some men tried to measure plats in 1909, reporting they couldn't do this as the fence was too crooked. With the help of Rev. Byberg in 1912, the first division of the cemetery was made but not recorded. A portion of the yard was divided into 40 lots containing 10 sections, each section containing 4 lots.
In 1948, the cemetery was officially surveyed and platted and this plat was registered at the Ramsey County Court House in Devils Lake. At that time, cement corner pieces were placed to mark each lot.
The bell at St. Hans pealed as people approached the church for a funeral. After the service, the bell would "dingdong" at half-tone as the deceased was carried to his or her final resting place.
In May 1990, St Hans Cemetery Association built a beautiful memorial at the cemetery entrance. Designed by Lowell Landsem, the bricks of the structure were laid in the shape of a cross with the St. Hans Church bell incorporated into the design to symbolize the cross on which Christ was crucified. Beneath the cross is a base of red cement representing the blood Jesus shed for us; that all who believe may have hope and eternal life in heaven. This last message was written by Lowell Landsem.
GHM
Info from – Edmore, N.D. 1901-2001 (pages 338 thru 340)
As the Newland Township prairie filled with homesteaders there was a need to civilize the area by forming churches and schools without delay. A large group of settlers met Jan. 21, 1899, at the Haaken Nabben home and decided to organize a congregation, which consisted of 24 families.
This first group decided the congregation should be called St. Hans Norsk Evangelical Lutherske Menighed and called Rev. A. J. Krogstad to serve as minister for $60 per year. The first trustees elected were: Hans Fjone, Ole Landsem, Laurils Regelstad, Haaken Nabben (secretary) and Telliev Fjalstad (treasurer).
The first members pledging to support the congregation were: Ole O., Ole T., and Nils Oie, John and Nils Myrvik, John, Ole and John J. Landsem, Bortinus Anderson, Sigvald Sigvaldson, Edward Anderson, Laurits Regelstad, Johan and Hans Foseide, Ole Korsmo, Albert Barstad, Haaken Nabben, Halvor Sanderson, Tarjei Midjaas, Telliev Fjalstad, Engebret and Helmer Danielson, Hans lngolfsland, Theodor Thorson, Kittel Anderson, Alfred Nordland, Martin Kittelson, Ole lngulsrud, Ole Elshaug, Karl A. Slaamot, John O.S. Johnson, S. P. Solberg, Hans and Ole Fjone, Martin Thompson, Jergen Torkelson, Karl Johnson, Ludvig Dammen, Syvar G. Luroas, Thorlaker Jonassen, Magnus Martinson, and Ole G . Sandbek.
Rev. Krogstad managed to hold services once a month in the sod or log homes. He performed baptisms, marriages, and burials on the same day and recorded seven baptisms during his year of service. In July 1899, religious instruction classes started with Ole Sandbek as leader.
Rev. Krogstad was a small man with a booming voice who delivered a powerful sermon in Norwegian. He acted as chairman at the first annual meeting Dec. 4, 1899, at the John Landsem home. The congregation had $56.75 in their treasury which was paid to the minister for his year of service. They were $3.25 short for the salary payment and struggled to collect the remainder.
At the first annual meeting, Hans lngolfsland, Ole Fjone and Laurits Regelstad were elected to call a permanent minister for $200 a year. Rev. Johannes B. Byberg accepted the call and remained with the congregation until 1918. The only resident pastor of St. Hans, Rev. Byberg built a home a half mile from the church and proceeded to minister to his flock and help build their church through many good deeds. Some of his sermons were preached in the "south" schoolhouse in Highland Township.
The congregation selected a site for the graveyard and eventual church yard and purchased three acres on the north side of the NE¼ of Section 4 from John J. Landsem. Landsem waited four and one-half years before he received any payment on this parcel. No interest was charged.
Money in the amount of $1,500 had been collected through subscriptions for a church. In 1905, a building committee consisting of Rev. Byberg, Sigvald Sigvaldson and John Myrvik presented plans for a church. Early in 1906, work started on the church. A stone foundation was built by John Christopherson, assisted by John Landsem. Carpenters John and Helmer Carlson and Sigvald Sigvaldson, assisted by John Myrvik, built the church. Many others donated hours of work.
Services were held in the church although the interior was not completed until 1909. The interior, finished with wallpaper, tin and wainscoting, was heated by two coal stoves and people sat on plank and keg benches until oak pews were installed many years later. Gas lanterns suspended from ceiling poles lit the church until 1945 when a power plant was installed. Electricity arrived in 1950.
In 1913, the West Circle Ladies Aid ordered a bell from St. Louis, Mo. The ladies misunderstood the price of the bell and when the bill arrived, they were dumbfounded! Their funds only paid for the bell frame-not the bell! A violinist, Halvor Barstad selected the tone for the bell in the key of "P' as he was blind and had a good "ear." Bortenus Anderson was the first "Klokker'' as he had been a bell ringer in Norway.
Gena Bjornson was the first organist. Others serving in this capacity were: Mabel Barstad, Amanda, Esther and Gertrude Boe, Joanne Stensland and Pamela Landsem, the last organist.
Improvements to the church were made as money permitted. In 1924, a magnificent oak altar and rail were added. A basement was dug for $3,000 in 1938.
Services were conducted in Norwegian until the 1940s, about the same time the church women were allowed to vote and sit with their husbands in church. Prior to this, women and children sat on one side of the church and the men on the other side.
Rev. E. O. Ulring replaced Rev. Byberg, ministering until 1926. He was followed by Rev. G. A. Larson until 1930, then Rev. Joseph Fjalstad until 1933. In 1932, St. Hans joined with Concordia Lutheran Church in Edmore to call pastors.
St. Hans was always a breath-taking silhouette against the landscape. A well-known photo of this church was taken by Dick Brown in the 1980s and is exhibited in the Smithsonian Institute.
The congregation of St. Hans was a closely knit group, dedicated to God and His work. Due to declining numbers in 1981, the congregation voted to dissolve with its members joining either Edmore or Fairdale Lutheran Churches.
God must not have liked to see His house stand empty. On Sunday afternoon, Sept. 21, 1986, lightning struck the church steeple, and the resultant fire destroyed the church. The only item to be salvaged was the bell which remained intact after its fall to the basement. The frame was cracked and broken.
GHM
St. Hans Ladies Aid
The "Kvindeforening" of St. Hans was established Jan. 25, 1900, at the home of Anna Korsmoe who was elected president that day. Mrs. Ole O. Oie, Mrs. Ingeborg Bjerkan, Mrs. Severt Oakland and Rev. Byberg, elected as treasurer, were also at the meeting. Joining at the next meeting at the Ole O. Oie home were Mrs. Anton Boe, Mrs. Ole Kirkreit, Mrs. Bortinus Anderson, Mrs. Ole Landsem, Mrs. John Landsem, Mrs. Randi Graving, Mrs. J. O. Johnson, Gertie and Gunhild Sandbek and Mrs. Martin Olson.
As most of the ladies lived on the east side of the township, they called themselves the "East Ladies Aid." Their first auction was held Jan. 26, 1901, at Rev. Byberg 's home with the pastor acting as auctioneer. Mrs. Byberg took off her apron, allowing it to be auctioned to increase the profits. When the church was built, East Aid gave $500 to the cause. It took many hours of hard work, auctions and dinners to raise so much money.
The Halvor Sanderson log house was the organizational place for the West Ladies Aid in 1904. Sophia Sanderson was elected president, Mrs. Ole Barstad, vice president, and Rev. Byberg received another treasurer's job. Those who joined were Mrs. Martin Kittelson, Mrs. T.O. Fjalstad, Mrs. Ole Barstad, Mrs. Aadne Anderson, Mrs. Olaf Halvorson, Mrs. Targe Fjone, and There Fjone. Mrs. John Stensland, Mrs. Targei Midjaas, Mrs. John Boe and Mrs. Hans Bjornson joined a short while later. Their first auction sale, consisting of quilts, fancy work, etc., was held at the Sanderson home with Halvor as auctioneer.
In 1922, the East and West groups united to form St. Hans Ladies Aid. They continued to work hard and lost $358.97 when the First National Bank in Edmore closed in 1930. Their reimbursement by dividend was 15 per cent. The ladies kept working, serving dinners on Thanksgiving, and any other way to raise funds. One of their final projects was a St. Hans commemorative plate which sold for $6.
The ladies paid for parochial school and helped teach Sunday School. What a thrill it was for them to meet in the new church basement on Nov. 19, 1939. Having a nice place to serve boosted their enthusiasm.
A charter written in 1939 stated the purpose of the Ladies Aid as such, "To unite all women of the congregation in cooperation for the missions and charities and to work for the good of the local congregation." The St. Hans Church women were faithful to this charter as long as the church existed, and have joined circles in Edmore and Fairdale, where they continue their good works in the name of the Lord.
GHM
St. Hans Cemetery
St. Hans Cemetery is located on the same three acres where the church was built. There seems to be some discrepancy between the time the cemetery was selected and when the first burial occurred. The first recorded burial is that of Ole A. Korsmoe on Nov. 21,1899. The church records seem to indicate that the site was not selected until January 1900. It is suspected that two or three burials may have occurred before Korsmoe was buried.
Ole Korsmoe was buried in the extreme southwest corner of the cemetery with a huge monument marking the site. Many years later, his remains were disinterred and moved elsewhere.
Another reason to believe the cemetery site was selected earlier is that the area was fenced in 1899 according to the minutes. Ole Korsmoe offered to get posts and wire and haul it. Ole could hardly accomplish this after his death! The cemetery was fenced with cedar posts and five wires at the cost of $25. Theodore Thorson, John Foseide and Hans Nabben were the committee for the project.
Before 1912, all the burials were located along the east, south, and west perimeter of the cemetery as it was not divided into plats. Some men tried to measure plats in 1909, reporting they couldn't do this as the fence was too crooked. With the help of Rev. Byberg in 1912, the first division of the cemetery was made but not recorded. A portion of the yard was divided into 40 lots containing 10 sections, each section containing 4 lots.
In 1948, the cemetery was officially surveyed and platted and this plat was registered at the Ramsey County Court House in Devils Lake. At that time, cement corner pieces were placed to mark each lot.
The bell at St. Hans pealed as people approached the church for a funeral. After the service, the bell would "dingdong" at half-tone as the deceased was carried to his or her final resting place.
In May 1990, St Hans Cemetery Association built a beautiful memorial at the cemetery entrance. Designed by Lowell Landsem, the bricks of the structure were laid in the shape of a cross with the St. Hans Church bell incorporated into the design to symbolize the cross on which Christ was crucified. Beneath the cross is a base of red cement representing the blood Jesus shed for us; that all who believe may have hope and eternal life in heaven. This last message was written by Lowell Landsem.
GHM
Info from – Edmore, N.D. 1901-2001 (pages 338 thru 340)