Easter Sunday Church Feature

Lutherans in Kaukauna

On April 15, 1877 Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized with 22 charter members in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. The minister was Rev. Reinhold Pieper of Wrightstown and the services were conducted in German. The next year they built the small wooden church with the single steeple that (shown in the photo below) on the 800 block of Grignon Street. In 1885 the Rev. William Hinnerthan was installed as the first official pastor and in 1889 a charter was granted to the church. In 1917 the Rev. Paul Oehlert became pastor and the following year a Sunday School was started. The present red brick church with the two square steeples was dedicated in 1915. Starting in 1920 services were conducted in English as well as German. In 1965 the Rev. John Mattek became pastor and in 1969 the new front entrance was built onto the 1915 church. (Link. )(See photo above.)

1878 Small Wooden Church on right (Link.)

It is interesting to note that the 1915 Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kaukauna, Wisconsin and the Emmanuel Lutheran Church (See March 21, 2010 blog post.) built in 1915 similar styles. Both are red brick and have two square steeples. The street that the Kaukauna church is on, Grignon Street, is named for Charles A. Grignon who obtained the first land deed in Wisconsin.

Sanctuary Altar (Link.)

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was the home church of Marie Juergenmeyer when she, her husband Martin, and daughter Hazel lived on Taylor Street in Kaukauna in the late 1920's and early 1930's. The family then moved to Seymour where she attended Emmanuel Lutheran Church. Following Martin's death in the 1950's she returned to live in the Taylor Street house in Kaukauna and again attended Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. Marie and Martin Juergenmeyer were the grandparents and Hazel the mother of Suzanne Wilson.

For more information on Kaukauna, Wisconsin see blog post from April 3, 2010. 

Thank you: To Irene Luehring and Bill Roerig of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran  

               Church, Kaukauna, Wisconsin, for the information and the memories.

Photos: Colored taken in 2006 by SW.

               B and W probably taken shortly after 1915. See Link.

Link: http://www.trinitykaukauna.com/index.php?pg=pages%2ftrinity_history.htm