Coon Prairie Church

 by Sheri Neprud Ballard, 2016

The Vernon County Censor, Oct. 19, 1910, reported that on Oct. 16, 1910, more than 2,000 people gathered at the new Coon Prairie Lutheran Church on Coon Prairie for the Sunday morning service! The occasion: to dedicate their beautiful new house of worship. Officiating at this event was acting bishop, Rev. A. H. Eikjarud of Cashton, who conducted the dedicatory service. Other clergy in attendance were Rev. John Hendricks of West Prairie; Rev. E. Berrum of Holmen; Rev. Holden Olson of Madison; Rev. A.O. Stub of Stoughton; Rev. N.E. Halverson of Big Rapids, Mich.; Rev. Lars Kalvestrand of Denver, Colo., as well as Coon Prairie’s own Rev. Halvor Halvorsen.

 

There were two services that day, one in the morning and the next one at 3 p.m. As with the first service, not even half the guests were able to be admitted to the services. The ladies of the church were busy all day preparing and serving food to the many guests. What a wonderful day it must have been!

Undated postcard of the Coon Prairie Church shortly after construction finished.

This congregation is believed to have been originally formed in 1851, when it only had an annual visit from a mission pastor. Several of the Norwegian settlers had been worshipping together for some time without the benefit of an ordained minister. Five little children were baptized by Pastor Nels Brandt on Nov. 2, 1851, during a visit to Even Gullord’s home. On July 1, 1852, Pastor Brandt conducted the first confirmation and 91 people celebrated the forming of a new congregation by taking communion the next day.

 

The people of Coon Prairie felt so strongly that they wanted their own church for worship services. Even Gullord’s sister, Marthe Olsdatter Gullord and her husband Nils Hansen Neperud, owned 80 acres of land and a small house and were persuaded to sell it to the congregation for $500. It remained in Nils Neperud’s name until the articles of incorporation were written and registered. So, when Pastor H. A. Stub answered the call to serve he moved to the little house and became Coon Prairie’s first pastor. There was no church at that time, so Even Gullord’s barn was used for church services that first year.

The first Lutheran church was erected on this site in 1858 at a cost of $4,200. The majority of the funds needed for building this church were raised from the church members by an assessment whereby they were asked to pay 3 1/6 percent of the worth of their property. That first church measured 56 feet by 34 feet by 20 feet high. In spite of the church members’ self-sacrifice, not enough funds came in to build the church and pay the current bills, so in June of 1856, it was decided to borrow $1000 for nine months at 20 percent interest to complete the church without delay.

The church soon was unable to hold the growing numbers of the congregation and it was decided in 1875 to build a larger church. A stone church, for which the stone was hauled to the site by the men of the church in horse and buggy. Work on this new church began in 1875. It was finished at a cost of $25,600 plus many volunteer hours, and was dedicated in 1884. At the time, this was the grandest church building in Vernon County and one of the finest Norwegian churches in the country. The church was built in the gothic style of architecture. Sadly, that church was destroyed by lightening on Easter Sunday in April 1909, and burned to the ground.

Much discussion occurred as to where a new church should be built. Since the congregation could not come to an agreement as to location, construction began almost immediately on these two churches, one on the old site and one in the growing little town of Westby. The architectural firm of Parkinson and Dockendorff of La Crosse was chosen. Albert Parkinson drew up the plans for both churches.

The cost for the town church was $21,000 and the cost of the Country Coon Prairie church was approximately $15,000. The outside appearance and shape of the country church was quite similar to the sister church in Westby, aside from the beautiful and imposing twin towers. The length of the Coon Prairie church was 90 feet, the width was 42 feet, and the towers were 12 feet square and 80 feet high. Sharing the honors of planning and building were the committee of J.A. Moen, Gustav Theige, Rudolph Nustad, Henry Johnson and Henry Swenson, as well as the pastor and contractor.

This beautiful church, the third one on this site, still stands proudly on Coon Prairie and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.