Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church, Gackle, North Dakota

Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church south of Gackle, ND

A couple of years ago I was on a trip in Dakotas. One of the places I visited was Gackle in Logan county, North Dakota. South of Gackle there has been a large area homesteaded mainly by Finns. There is still standing one church which has Finnish background: Old Apostolic Lutheran Church. It's located in 6300 Highway 56, ten miles south of Gackle. There was also another Finnish church in the area, seven miles south of the city: Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church. The later had also a cemetery called the Saari Cemetery. The name was given after William Saari by whom the land was gifted  for the cemetery and church. This church was destroyed by lightning in spring 1984 and has been demolished. There is only memorial stone standing at church site. I stopped at the memorial and cemetery and took some pictures and wrote also a short history of this little church:

The memorial stone of the Finnish Apostolic Lutheran church at the Saari Cemetery, south of Gackle

At the home of Andrew Erickson met on July 28, 1907, a group of Finnish immigrants. Their purpose was to organize a church. They discussed also how to raise funds to build a church building. Board of trustees was elected with following members: John Isaacs, Matt Tomperi, August Elgland, Matt Lahti, John K. Saari and Andrew Erickson. First officers were: Walter Isaacs, president, Isaac W. Selvala secretary and Thomas Poykko, treasurer. The the church joined 15 families, namely: Thomas Poykko, Andrew Erickson, Jacob Mackey, John K. Saari, Christian Koskiniemi, Christian Isaacs, Walter Isaacs, John Isaacs, Matt Tomperi, August Elgland, John Rosendahl, Isaac W. Selvala, Matt Lahti and Jacob Pakkala families.

Walter Isaacs (kuoppa-Valtteri), local pastor, standing with his wife in front of their home.

In February 1908, it was decided to build a church before the farmers should go to their fields. The land for church was given by William Saari. Pastors of this church have been Christian Isaacs, Isaac Selvala and Walter Isaacs. Walter Isaacs moved to Minnesota in 1930 and after that the congregation didn't have a local pastor. Pastors from South Dakota and Minnesota held occasionally services in the church. In spring 1984 a heavy lightning struck the church and it was badly destroyed. After this accident the church was demolished.

The Saari Cemetery is located east of the church site. Here you can find all interments at the cemetery

Pictures taken in spring 1984, after lighting had destroyed church building

Finnish Pioneer Monument near Rolla, ND / Suomalaisten uudisraivaajien muistomerkki Rollan lähellä Pohjois-Dakotassa

Finnish Pioneer Monument, 7,5 miles east of Rolla, ND

On my trip to North Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Colombia, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, a couple of years ago, I stopped at this site near Rolla, North Dakota. It is located on Highway 5, Towner County, 7,5 miles east of Rolla. This statue was erected by North Dakota Finnish Historical Society, which began it's function in 1954. It was organized by Dr. K. Koski, who came from Iron River, Michigan, to practice in Rolla. Dr. Koski was interested in establishing a historical society among the Finnish settlers in the area. He gained support from the local residents.

At first there were only a few who actively participated. Their objective was to collect historical facts and information dating back to 1896, when the first Finnish settlers arrived. The founding meeting was held on July 30, 1954, at the Towner County's Mount View School. At this meeting officers were elected and 30 new members joined. By-laws were drafted, and the group took the official name.

The Society decided to build a memorial monument for Finnish pioneers as a part of the 60th anniversary of the Finnish settlement in the area.  Discussion came up as to where the monument would be located. The Society’s board of directors went to confer with Theodore Leonard and Amelia Johnson, who were descendants of Riter A. Johnson, as he had promised to give an acre of land for that purpose. The land that the Johnsons donated is on the north side of Highway #5, seven and a half miles east of Rolla.

Founders
We dedicate this monument to the memory of the Finnish Pioneers who came here in 1896 nad after. They tilled this soil with oxen and horses and lived in houses of earth sod. Through their early efforts we have achieved our present living standard
North Dakota Finnish Historical Society

Perustajat
Me pyhitämme tämän patsaan suomalaisten esiraivaajien muistolle jotka tulivat tänne 1896 ja sen jälkeen. Härillä ja hevosilla he raivasivat nämä maat. Heidän työnsä on laskenut perustuksen tämänpäivän hyvinvoinille.

Pohjois-Dakotan Suomalainen Historia Seura

The preparation of the land for erecting the monument had started earlier. The land was worked and grass was sown. Men planted pine trees, American Elm and Box elder, on the acre of land. One of the money raising projects was a dinner held at the Rolla City hall, with proceeds of $135.

The Society ordered the $400 granite monument which was delivered on June 18th, 1956 to the site chosen by the Society members. The unveiling and dedication of the monument took place on Sunday, July 8th, 1956. The people of the area arrived en masse to celebrate those pioneers who founded and helped a better life for themselves and their descendants.

At that time the Society had 80 members. Since then, the society membership declined, and the society ceased to exist in the 1960 - 70's


Today the Finnish Monument has a picnic shelter and rest rooms, and it is a very nice quiet placed to stop at, to have a picnic, or just to stop and look at the historical monument.
 

Finnish Pioneer Monumet was erected by North Dakota Finnish Historical Society in 1956