First Baptist Church of Atwater, Minnesota collection, 1868-1991

Collection

Identifier: MSS-CHU-MN-9

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection covers one box and spans the years from 1868 to 1991.

The first two general ledgers hold both member lists and meeting minutes in Swedish. The following two ledgers of meeting minutes are in English.

The Baptism ledger holds lists of names of members baptised.

Two ledgers from the Ladies Aid Society hold meeting minutes and the organizations finances.

Five ledgers hold meeting minutes from the Young People's Society. The last ledger also calls the group the Crusaders. A file also includes the loose documents removed from ledger pages.

One guest book contains names of church visitors from 1957 to 1965.

The Anniversaries folder includes material from the 50th, 90th, and 100th Anniversaries of the church.

The Loose papers folder contains various other documents, such as missionary letters from Dr. Tom Coleman in Ethiopia, the constitution and by-laws, correspondence, and written histories.

Dates

1868 - 1991

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to researcher use.

Historical note

Lake Elizabeth Baptist Church was organized in 1868 with twelve charter members, but soon relocated to Tripolis. In 1871, the church reorganized with eighteen members. A church building was constructed in Lake Elizabeth in 1876, with a parsonage built in 1889. In 1903, the church was rebuilt for remodeling. By 1921, the evening services were being held in the English language.

In 1945, the pastor of the Lake Lillian Baptist Church began holding services in a Presbyterian Church in Atwater, which was continued in 1946 by Pastor Larson of Lake Elizabeth Baptist Church. In 1952, a parsonage was purchased in Atwater, and the church building purchased a year later. Church services were discontinued at the Lake Elizabeth church building in 1958, and the church was renamed Atwater Baptist Church, later First Baptist Church. The Lake Elizabeth building was torn down 1961.