10 Broadcaster Press April 3, 2018 www.broadcasteronline.com St. Paul Lutheran Church Listed On National Register Of Historic Places PIERRE, S.D. – The St. Paul Lutheran Church in Union County was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places, according to the South Dakota State Historical Society. The National Register is the official federal list of properties identified as important in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture. The State Historic Preservation Office of the State Historical Society works in conjunction with the National Park Service, which oversees the National Register program, to list the properties. "South Dakota's history is rich in American Indian culture, pioneer life and change," said Jay D. Vogt, state historic preservation officer and director of the State Historical Society. "Properties listed on the National Register are important for their role in South Dakota's culture, heritage and history. And when properties get listed, it shows that their owners take pride in their role in preserving that culture, heritage and history." Buildings, sites, structures and objects at least 50 years old possessing historical significance may qualify for the National Register, according to Vogt. Properties must also maintain their historic location, design, materials and association. Listing on the National Register does not place any limitations on private property owners by the federal government. The cornerstone for the present St. Paul Lutheran Church building was laid on September 26, 1920. The two-story brick church located in rural Union County near Elk Point was dedicated in July 1922. The long-existing cemetery is across the road to the east of the church. The church and cemetery both retain excellent integrity of location, setting, materials, design, workmanship, feeling, and association. The property is listed in the National Register as architecturally significant as an excellent example of a Gothic Revival style church building in rural South Dakota. Gothic Revival architecture is associated with European ecclesiastical designs and rose in popularity in the United States in the mid-1800s as many immigrants sought to bring something comfortable and familiar to their new, foreign home. Vertically-oriented exterior and interior features drew the eye of a visitor heavenward, which was considered valuable for ecclesiastical architecture. Designed by architect Peter Oliver Moe, the church possesses many elements characteristic of the Gothic Revival style of architecture as indicated by the church’s emphasis on the vertical with elements like the front-gable roof, tiered buttresses, pointed arch- Cutline: St. Paul Lutheran Church in Union County is listed in the National Register as architecturally significant as an excellent example of a Gothic Revival style church building in rural South Dakota. es, fixed pointed arch stained glass windows, and two asymmetrical brick steeples. On the interior, the historic layout of the sanctuary remains in details that include the original wood detailing of the pews, the altar, the pipe organ, flooring, in-floor vents, stainedglass windows, and the balcony. Original plaster details and moldings also remain intact. The altar features an original carved wooden railing, directly behind which is the original Gothic Revival style carved wooden altarpiece painted white and gold. The church also retains key associated properties including a tree-lined cemetery and churchyard that was historically used for social fellowship activities. The St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery is accessed by a wrought iron gate attached to brick pillars. About twentyfive rows of graves are aligned north-to-south. In 1938, a monument dedicated to the first site of a Norwegian Lutheran church in Dakota Territory was installed on the south side of the walk near the front gate. It contains a plaque listing the names of the 1863 charter members of St. Paul Lutheran Church. The church regularly held services in Norwegian until 1923. The church’s first congregation was established in 1863. The present building is the third in a series of generational churches constructed by the congregation. The first-generation log church, built in 18671868, stood on the site of the current cemetery. A second wood frame church with a central steeple was dedicated in 1881. This building stood just south of the present building and was removed after the construction of the current church was completed. The St. Paul Lutheran congregation officially incorporated in 1878 and continued to grow throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As the current building was planned, eight church families and one church group paid for the purchase of nine memorial stained glass windows in 1921 from the Ford McNutt Glass Company of Minneapolis. The church also commissioned Norwegian-born artist August Klagstad to create an altar painting for the new church. The piece is titled Resurrection and was purchased in 1922. The three other properties that were also recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places are the Gottlieb and Friederike Schuerenbrand House and the Louis N. and Helen Seaman House in Mitchell and the Celina and Albert Goddard House in Pierre. For more information on the National Register or other historic preservation programs, contact the State Historic Preservation Office at the Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501-2217; telephone (605) 7733458 or website history. sd.gov/Preservation, click on National Register of Historic Places in the right column. Arrrrre you advertising in the Broadcaster? Watch the “treasure” pile up when you advertise in the 201 W Cherry Vermillion, SD Phone: (605) 624-4429 Fax: (605) 624-2696 VHS Athletic Booster Club HALL OF FAME Join us to honor TICK ETS our past and celebrate the future ON S of our athletic achievements ALE Now Saturday, April 28, 2018 Old Lumber Company 15 Court St., Vermillion Social 5:00 P.M. Dinner 6:00 P.M. Program to follow Tickets on sale at Vermillion High School, Vermillion Plain Talk or see a Booster Board member until April 24. Price $35 per person includes meal or table of eight for $225. Inductees are: 1965 undefeated football team, Richard (Dick) Slattery, Todd Poling, Jane O’Brien (Knutson), and Kevin Cusick