On May 28, 1876, a group of citizens met in the room of the Mission Sunday School in the lakeside village of Kewaunee to attempt the formation of a church that would satisfy the needs of those expatrioted Yankees from the New England states that had chosen this spot on the frontier for their future home. They were a representative group of intellectuals who hoped by so doing to raise the spiritual and cultural tone of this village not only for themselves but for their posterity. In addition to the organizer sent over to assist, one Reverend Henry A. Miner, were Dr. and Mrs. O.H. Martin, Mr. and Mrs. G.G. Sedgwick, Mrs. A.D. Laughlin, Mr. Richard Smith, and the Misses Libbie Smith and Jessie Martin.
History does not record their previous religious affiliations, but they may have been as varied as the individuals. So with rare good judgment they decided to form a Union Church that would or could encompass all Protestant denominations. A roster of membership in that organizational year never got beyond the sponsors. Something is lacking there because on June 12th in the same year, trustees were elected and two new names appear, Jos. Duvall and C.W. Dikeman. On October 15, 1876, the congregation received a letter of admission from the Winnebago conference. It wasn't until October 25, 1884, that the group purchased the site on which their first church would be erected. It was lots 1 and 2, and the sellers were Jos. Duvall and Caroline Duvall, his wife: consideration $1.00. That legal description covers the promontory overlooking Lake Michigan east of Dr. Nesemann's home. That parcel had an interesting history in itself up to that time.
It was first levied on by Joshua Hathaway, then John and Henry Volk, the first white settlers and subsequently to the Slousons, Taylors, Grimner, Decker and Duvall, all lumbermen. It was not until the year 1888 that the congregation built what was affectionately known as the "Little Brown Church on the Hill". It was a typical pilgrim meeting house, a barracks hard to heat, dimly lighted by kerosene lamps and approached by a narrow wooden sidewalk that must have been 300 feet long. But it was the human relationships that gave the place its color and vitality. When you read the minutes recorded over the years, the baptisms, the marriages, the funeral services that old building in memory takes on character and arouses emotions hard to down.
For some reason or other, maybe inability to get a minister, lack of funds or general apathy after erecting the church building there was a period in the church history that remains a blank. Not so this author. Sunday School, Christian Endeavor, and the social life of the church never wavered. The many good souls who gave of their time during this period in teaching, music or fund raising projects were Mrs. Belle Wing, Mrs. Laura Haney, Mrs. 0.H. Martin, Mrs. Bridget Rooney, Mrs. A.D. Laughlin and Miss Rose Seyk. These devoted workers I recall from my own adolescence. I can truthfully add that I loved and respected them then and revere their memory to this day.
On September 2, 1896, a call was made to Reverend Wm. E. Rigby, recent graduate of the Chicago Seminary. He accepted and was subsequently ordained at Kewaunee on September 24, 1896. It was during his stewardship that the little church on the hill became formally known as the Union congregational Church. That label "Union" was just a protective screen and an olive branch to any worshipper who might care to join in the church's services. Those "White Protestants" who organized it were never in doubt as to what order they belonged. They were justly proud of their New England inheritance.
It was November 14, 1905 when Reverend Silas P. Luce was ordained and entered the ministry and our church.
On September 16, 1921 discussions began for the erection of a new church building. On November 14, 1921 the land site was purchased and the task of planning, raising funds and building began. The cornerstone of our present edifice was celebrated at a ceremony on November 11, 1923. It is only fitting to mention that the congregation was benefited by a generous contribution from the John L. Haney family.
In January of 1956, the persistent growth of the congregation made an addition to the church a necessity. Without a dissenting vote, the addition became the church school and parlors. A sign of the times was the amount involved. The first church building on the lake bluff cost $800.00; the school addition to our present church cost $65,000.00.
During his ministry in our church, the Reverend Ted W. Selgo was ordained on November 22, 1970.
In our hundredth year we had the signal honor of presenting the ministry of the Congregational Church, the Reverend Lawrence Balleine at an ordination service on June 1, 1975. Reverend Lawrence, who is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Balleine, we can rightfully claim as one of our own. Lawrence is the first member of our church to enter the ministry. With him go the well wishes, prayers and hopes of us who are privileged to know him.
Photos courtesy of Mark Von of Von Studios Text by the Centennial Committee
History