For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara O’Keeffe
608-261-9596
kara.okeeffe@wisconsinhistory.org 

June 17, 2019

Wisconsin Historical Society placed the St. Lucas Evangelical German Lutheran Church and Cemetery on the State Register of Historic Places

Monroe County, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society placed the St. Lucas Evangelical German Lutheran Church and Cemetery (Town of Glendale, Monroe County) on the State Register of Historic Places in May.

The St. Lucas Evangelical German Lutheran Church was constructed in 1899 in rural Glendale Township, Monroe County, beautifully sited at a crossroads and at the top of a hill; the picturesque site was an ideal location for the new church.  The building is an excellent representative of traditional rural church design with modest Gothic Revival styling as seen in its steeply-pitched roof and rows of triangular arched windows with angular lancet designs.

During the nineteenth century, no European nation sent more immigrants to the United States than Germany with more than five and a half million Germans arriving in the U.S. between 1820 and 1910.  Wisconsin’s highest period of German immigration occurred between 1880 and 1893.  It was during this period that a number of German immigrant families relocated from the Milwaukee area to the southern portion of Glendale Township.  With the assistance of a German Lutheran circuit pastor, the community formed its own congregation in 1898 and set about building a church the following year.  The small church, designed and constructed by members of the congregation, served as the religious and social center of the area’s German Lutheran families until decreasing membership led to its closure in 1987.  Today, the church is owned by St. Luke’s Auxiliary and Preservation Committee which has raised considerable funding and volunteer support to restore and maintain the church.  

The State Register is Wisconsin's official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin's heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and National Register in Wisconsin.

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visitwww.wisconsinhistory.org.      

About Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.

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