A History of the "Little White Church on the Hill"
At
an annual meeting of St. Paul's parish, Point Douglas, in 1863,
a vote was taken to establish St. Mary's. Basswood Grove residents William Allibone, John Allibone,
William Stokesbery, Jr., Thomas Wright, Mark Wright, Sr., Mark Wright Jr., and John Wright signed the
request to the vestry. It was unanimously approved Easter Tuesday.
The bishop of Minnesota, H. B. Whipple gave the following consent: "I hereby give my consent to the organization of a parish in communion with the Protestant Episcopal Church in Basswood Grove, Minnesota." The date of the permission was April 16, 1863, in the middle of the Civil War. Bishop Whipple, famous in Minnesota history for both his shepherding of the diocese and his work with American Indians, is pictured at left. In fact, Whipple convinced President Lincoln to alter federal policy towards the Indians in general and the Sioux in particular. Bishop Whipple confirmed the first class of confirmands from the church.
A vestry meeting May 14th of the same year approved the purchase of 2.5 acres of land which belonged to Samuel Van Alstine. The vestry also resolved to build a church 24 feet by 30 feet with a chancel 10 feet by 12 feet. The first meetings of St. Mary's were held in the local schoolhouse. May 1864 witnessed the laying of the cornerstone by the bishop. Guy Perkins and Samuel Van Alstine constructed the building.
Straw Hats, Bare Feet, and Confirmation by Bishop Whipple:
The Early Years
In
a meeting of the Washington County Historical Society, Lou Orr, a member of the church for all of his
65 years, regaled his audience with stories of some of the early parishioners who came to church
services wearing home-made straw hats and in their bare feet with trousers rolled up almost to their
knees. It is unlikely there were any signs which read, "No shoes, no shirts, no service!"
In the image at right, the confirmation record from 1882 records that the Perkins, Wright and Cran
families were represented. Notice that Bishop Whipple had very active confirming hands this year,
some twenty years before his death. Click the image for the full page.
The register also includes this charming description, shown in the image outlined in the black box, with page "8" on the left, of the time the Rev. J. W. Barker became priest in charge at St. Mary's in 1903. It reads, "Rev. J.W. Barker, D.D., rector of St. Luke's parish, Hastings, became priest in charge of St. Mary's mission, in Bass Wood Grove in Aug. 1903, holding services twice each month, summer and winter, when weather conditions would permit the people to attend, ending his ministry there on ____." The register does not include the end point of his tenure and the 1964 history of St. Mary's does not mention him at all. The listing of clergy has gaps in it, perhaps not able to distinguish between more permanent appointments and clergy who served only short periods of time.
Not all the early years were happy. Some time after the founding of St. Mary's, a group split away and founded its own church down the road--the United Brethren Church. The late nineteenth-century was a time of considerable anti-Roman Catholic feeling and sometimes the Episcopal Church was thought to be "too Catholic," though much of the reason for the split has been lost to history. The United Brethren Church did not survive but the breakaway members were not allowed burial in St. Mary's cemetery. They founded their own cemetery which still exists.
Faithful Families Through the Years
In the
early years, the wagon trail that became St. Croix Trail, and which led from Afton to Prescott,
Wisconsin in the south, was very busy. To sustain the small church next to the Trail in the
early--and often lean--years, the women of the church would hold bake sales, dinners, and, in the
fall, harvest festivals in farm homes around the area. There were activities such as quilting bees,
taffy pulls, dances, and bobbing for apples in dangerously large barrels filled to the brim with St.
Croix or well water.
Of course, there were births and baptisms and the church grew in the early years. Some Sundays, entire pews would be occupied by the Crans or the Orrs. The Crans and Orrs have seen five generations attending St. Mary's. Much later, one memorable Sunday saw the seven children of Mr. and Mrs. Lauren Herman baptized. The Herman farm is across the street from the church.
Sixty
years after the construction of the church, on Dec. 20, 1925, plans were considered to build a parish
house. Another Van Alstine was involved, this time William Van Alstine. Also on the committee were
Mrs. Shingledecker, Mrs. Siebolds, E.B. Hetherington, and Mr. Orr. The parish house was constructed
on a place on the property that was formerly occupied by the horse and carriage shed. Work was
completed in 1929, at a cost of a little over two thousand dollars. The carpenter was Theodore
Siebolds; lumber from an old shelter for horses was used in its construction. As a result,
Guild Hall came into being.
There were lean days when no priest served the church. In such days, lay members filled in and led morning prayer. One prominent lay leader was Dr. Norman Johnson, a physician from Minneapolis whose father happened to have been an Episcopal bishop. Walter Mills, a member since his childhood in the 20s, recalled in 2001 the stories coming from Dr. Johnson's faithful service. When it was not possible to hold Sunday morning services, they were held at night. But through it all, thin and thick, the little white church on the hill survived as a beacon of Christian hope.
|
Anniversary images / history information below Access St. Mary's Cemetery Burial Record
St. Mary's Picture
Tour of the 75th Anniversary
St. Mary's Picture Tour
of the 125th Anniversary |
