“Original Site of New Home Lutheran Church”

During the early 1880’s, a small group of Swedish settlers left their homeland to come to Dakota Territory where they took up homesteads in this vicinity.

On September 15, 1883, after holding services and meetings in their homes, they organized ‘The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Nyhem Church’ - - Nyhem being the Swedish word for new home

• • because they wanted a new church home in their new land. The charter members were:

Mr. and Mrs. P.E. Anderson; Mr. and Mrs. Nels Anderson; Mr. and Mrs. Gustaf A. Johnson; Mr. and Mrs. August Carlson; Mr. and Mrs. A. Lindstrom; Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Anderson; Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Lindahl; Mr. and Mrs. Charley Wilson; Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Carlson; Mr. and Mrs.

Frank G. Sand; Carl Honasson; Gustaf Sandstrom; J.P. Carlson; Carl Tornquist; Mr. and Mrs. John P. Carlson; Mr. and Mrs. Sven G. Strand; Nels Rosenquist; and Hutlin Rosenquist.

Services were held in homes and a schoolhouse until 1885 when P.E. Anderson offered five acres of land for a church and cemetery. A small frame church was built later that year, to which a bell tower and improvements were added over the years.

Due to a declining rural population, the membership decided to relocate the church in nearby Mitchell. So on August 24, 1958, the last worship service was held. Only the bell remains of the sturdy white church which stood on this hill for three quarters of a century defying all the elements - - a symbol of the stalwart faith of those whose loving hands had placed it here.”

Davison County, SD 37 south of Mitchell