The early beginning of the Abercrombie community is very closely associated with the establishment of Fort Abercrombie. Fort Abercrombie had lured hundreds of settlers not only to Abercrombie but beyond in the other rich lands of our state. Homes became the places of worship for these early pioneers. As the families grew, it became apparent that a larger place of worship was needed and so it was that the St. John’s congregation was organized in 1872. By the time the St. John’s church had been built, Abercrombie had become a thriving village. The majority of its population was of Lutheran background and Norse descent so it was natural they would attend the services at St. John’s church.
Some of the charter members of Emmanuel worshipped at St. John’s church, were married there, and some of their children baptized by the first pastors that would serve this little Lutheran community. However, as the community became more and more densely populated, it was found necessary to organize other congregations so that the distances would be shortened. Though there was a Congregational church in the village of Abercrombie where services were conducted in the English language and its Sunday School was growing by leaps and bounds, the villagers began to feel the need for their own place of worship. There were no graveled roads to bring folks quickly to St. John’s church or the other rural churches.
On November 19, 1890, 17 families met with Reverend Gustaf Oftedal, who was then pastor at Richland, and designated their willingness to organize a new congregation. The November 28, 1891, church minutes recorded that the congregation wished to build a church, and a committee was formed to survey the community to determine whether or not such a venture was possible. By December 1894 the congregation had its charter and, in April 1895, plans were made for building a church that could seat at least 300 people. The date for completion was October 1895 and the first Emmanuel Church building was dedicated on July 5, 1896.
Reverend Anders Wold served the joint call of Emmanuel and Richland for 15 years. When Reverend Lunde resigned in 1916, the matter was taken up again and the connection with Richland was severed by mutual consent. By 1917, Betania, Emmanuel, and St. John were organized as a joint call with Reverend V. L. Peterson as the pastor.
On March 27, 1927, all hearts were saddened when the structure which had been built in 1895 was burned to the ground in less than an hour on a windy March day. The splendid cooperation between pastor and congregation was seen when the task of building a new brick church was miraculously accomplished with the first services being held exactly seven months later on October 27, 1927.
A decision was made in 1974 to build a new entry to the church, enclosing the stairways and adding an office, meeting room, and vestibule. A dedication service for this new addition to our church was held on May 23, 1976.
The Emmanuel Church celebrated its 125th anniversary in November 2015.
“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20.