01/03/2008
Church was dismantled in 1942 By Pat Baker Another mystery has been solved! Many have long admired the 1874 Dakota City Methodist Episcopal Church as "the prettiest church in Humboldt County." The red brick church had a slender white spire, bell tower, gothic arched windows and doors and an oriel window in back. It was located on the SW corner of 1st Avenue and 4th Street South, where Gordon and Betty VanGronigan now live. As Dakota City gets ready to celebrate its sesquicentennial, local historians now know who the people were who led the effort to build the church, and how they paid for it during those hard times. Oliver DeGroote, in his History of the City of Humboldt commented, "The Methodist Church originated in the 1860s, in Dakota City, we wish that we knew under what circumstances the first church was built." A small, soft leather book holds the answers. The book has been resting safely in the files at the Humboldt County Historical Museum. Given by the Cruikshank family in 1986, the book was quickly accessioned. As it was one small book in a mountain of historically significant materials, it was given identification number 9336, labeled "account book" and tucked away for further reference. Barely readable inside the cover is the name "Mr. G.L. Cruikshank." George Cruikshank was a grocer in Dakota City from 1868 to 1875. His general store was the gathering place for locals, where news was exchanged along with the produce. The first religious services in Dakota City by Methodists were in 1857, the Rev. Mr. Lawton presiding. The first Sunday school in Dakota was organized by William Sherman in May 1858. At first there were but two children in attendance. A nondenominational union prayer meeting was kept up in connection with the school. During 1859, George L. Cruikshank was the superintendent and his sister, Maggie, was the teacher. Other church leaders were Ambrose Booth, Walter Thomas, William Blythe, and J.E. Cragg. They met in homes or in Cragg's law office. There were no regular records kept of those early meetings. The Reverends J.W. Latham, J.E. Rowan, J.P. Coleman, and R. Fancher had charge of Methodist circuit riding in this area from 1868 to 1874. According to the 1884 History of Kossuth and Humboldt Counties, "The (Methodist) Church edifice was built in 1869, a very neat and tasty building of brick, 30 x 50 feet, and was erected at a cost of $3,500. It will seat about 300 people, including the seats in the gallery." However, Humboldt newspaper records show that the church was actually built in 1873-1874. From the Humboldt Kosmos: July 1, 1874: "The new church at Dakota is progressing rapidly. It will be a fine building when completed and an ornament to the place." July 15, 1874: "Storm in Dakota damaged the front of Mr. Cruikshank's store, tore the front off the building occupied by Mr. Dolph Chauvet, and pushed in the west end of the new Methodist Church." Aug. 19, 1874: "The steeple is on the Methodist Church in Dakota." The brick Methodist Episcopal Church in Dakota City was not the first church building constructed in Humboldt County, but the second. The Congregational Church of Humboldt built a wood frame church in 1873, on the same site as the current stone church. One of its founders noted, "It was not a handsome church, but we are so glad to have a church home, whose worshippers loved and honored the Christ, that it seemed very good to us." Mr. Cruikshank's account book lists pledges and contributions given for the building of the Dakota City Methodist Church from 1873 to 1875. Each donor had a page to himself. Pledges (or "subscriptions") were noted on the left hand side, and how the pledge was fulfilled on the right. Those who had the cash paid that way. Some gave more than once. A generous donation of $25 was from Dr. Welch. Most gave about $5. Not everyone had the cash. Those were very hard times. Farmers were hit by invasions of grasshoppers, destroying some of their crops. The nationwide panic of 1874 caused Eastern banks to call in their loans and mortgages, and many local settlers had to give up their homesteads and businesses. Most church pledges were made in 1873, before the hard financial times hit. With no cash on hand, many gave by working on the church without pay: November 1873 - August Sholtz "two days work on foundation - $5." 1873 - Thos. Myles - "work on foundation - $4," and "hauling brick for church, - $15." May 26, 1874 - John Kennelin "two days work hauling sand - $6." July 5, 1874 - M.R. Derby "14-1/2 days work attending mason - $21.38." July 3, 1874 - Wm. Wambold, "working 18 days - $27, and 18-3/4 days - $28.12." July 19 - Wade H. Brown, 4-1/2 days work hauling sand - $13.50." July 21 - Frank Adler, "seven days work hauling stone - $21." July 30, 1874 - G.L. Cass, "10 days work - $15." Oct. 14 - A.J. Colson, "55 days work - $110." Merchants donated materials from their stock: B. Chauvet, "one cord of stone - $5." S.B. Bellows, "lime for church - $60." A.B. Smith, "freight on lumber - $6." Harlow Minor, "freight on lumber - $10." Mrs. D.G. Pinney, "paid by work and material furnished by Mr. Pinney for the altar in church." Charles Bergk, who pledged $500, gave stone for the foundation and brick for the church in 1873, so was paid up before his difficulties began. In January 1874, Bergk, County Treasurer, Recorder, and General Land Agent (who owned the land Dakota City was built on and the brick works), was found to have mishandled County funds. To solve the problem, Bergk apologized, gave all he owned to the County, and retreated to California to start over. The Ladies Society pledged $100, but had only earned $10 by 1876. Many families did not fulfill their pledges. But some, not potential members of the church, gave. Mrs. S.H. Taft donated $52. Times were hard for George Cruikshank during 1874. Many of the folks who purchased groceries from his store could not pay their debts. His sister was married to Charles Bergk, and George felt their loss. Cruikshank's brother-in-law, George Flower, who was to take over the family farm after graduating from Iowa Agriculture College, died in 1874. In 1875, Cruikshank sold his store and moved to the family farm. Members of the Church Executive Board were G.L. Cruikshank, Thomas Davenport, Albert Harvey, William Cusey, and Carlton Wiley. Mr. Cruikshank numbered each page in his account book. At the back of the book is an index, giving which page each donor is listed. There are 86 names listed. Copies of the book are available at the museum and at the Humboldt Public Library, for those who wish to see the complete list. Beginning in 1874, the new Dakota City Methodist Episcopal Church served Methodists and others from Dakota City and Humboldt. The Rev. A.A. Schesler preached from 1874-76, followed by Rev. S.C. Bascomb 1876-79, J.G. Henderson 1879-81, J.W. McCoy 1881-83, and H.J. Grace 1883-84. In September of 1880, pictures were taken of the members of the Sunday school classes at the Dakota City Methodist Church under Rev. Sylva C. and Mrs. Mary L. Bascomb. The photos were placed under glass in a 28x32 inch walnut frame, held together with small square nails. This framed collection of 56 photos was on display in the church, then resided at the Humboldt Public Library for many years. It is now part of the collection at the museum. Family names on the pictures are Boothroyd, Burgit, Cragg, Davis, Derby, Fairman, Fancher, Fletcher, Franklin, Griswold, Gullixson, Hinds, Howell, McFarland, Miner, Quivey, Robertson, Simmons, Simpson, Thompson, Tyler, Smith, and Whittier. Some names are missing. In 1881, a Methodist Church was organized in Humboldt. They met upstairs in the Harkness building at 627 Sumner Avenue. In 1888, the wood framed Humboldt Methodist Church was built on the site of their present church. Dakota City and Humboldt shared a Methodist minister from 1881 until 1892, when Humboldt's growing population necessitated that they have a pastor of their own. The Dakota City church kept on until 1895, when they closed its doors. In 1898, a group from the Dakota City Christian Church, who had been using the space for worship, offered to purchase the building. The Methodists refused. Failing this, in 1899, the Christian Church built a wood frame church on the NE corner of 1st Avenue and 5th Street North in Dakota City. This church was not able to survive. The building was sold in 1906 and moved to Arnold to serve the Methodists in Arnold for a few years. A nonsectarian group bought the Dakota City Methodist Church building in 1899, and held services and Sunday school for a short time. In 1911, the neglected church lost its steeple during a storm. In 1937, it was used for worship by the Assembly of God. After that congregation moved on, the church fell into disrepair. In 1942, after several meetings with lawyers, C.W. Garfield and Don Sawyer, debating the ownership of the property, the Dakota City Council voted to have the "old brick church" dismantled. As the building was taken down, Don Sawyer was there with his camera, recording it all for history. |
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The Humboldt
Independent • Official paper of Humboldt County
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