Site of the First Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Roche
In 1850, a group of Norwegian settlers from Koshkonong, the foremost Norwegian settlement colony in the United States at the time, left their southern Wisconsin home and migrated north, settling here in "Roch-a-Cree" or Roche-a-Cri. Imbued with pioneer spirit and a firm faith in Lutheranism, these settlers homesteaded and became successful farmers, growing potatoes as the their staple crop. In 1853, the Rev. H. A. Preus, a university-trained minister of the Norwegian state church, visited Roche-a-Cri and organized "The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Roche-a-Cri" with a membership of about thirty individuals who held services in their homes. By 1859, the community and congregation had outgrown these meeting places and built a log church at this site. This structure was destroyed by fire and in 1868 a frame church was erected one mile north of this location. The old church cemetery remains here, however, and is known as the South Arkdale Cemetery.
Marker is on Cypress Avenue west of 18th Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
