Popularly referred to as Christian Science, the Church of Christ, Scientist traces its roots to the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy who established the church in Boston in 1879. In 1890, Wisconsin was home to 474 Christian Scientists, the largest association of which was in Rock County.  The Christian Science association in Oconto constructed the world's first Christian Science church edifice in 1887; until this point, other groups had rented halls and auditoriums. Christian Science became active in Madison around 1884 but a permament church structure was not built until the late 1920s. Although Christian Scientists are geographically dispersed throughout the state, the heaviest concentrations are in Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Rock, Winnebago, Dane, and Racine counties. Between 1906 and 1926, membership more than doubled from 1704 members to 4,035. In 1980, Wisconsin counted more than 9,000 Christian Scientists.

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Christian Science in Wisconsin

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