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It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, one of the most solemn times in the Christian calendar. Here is a view of one of Whitewater’s long-time churches, the First English Lutheran Church. But, this post card is labeled the Norwegian Lutheran Church, not the First English Lutheran Church. This is because the post card was probably produced before 1937 when the congregation officially changed its name. In the mid-19th century, Norwegian immigrants founded the local Norwegian Lutheran Church on the east side of Whitewater. In 1908 the congregation relocated to this building, the old Baptist Church, originally built in 1886-1887. In the early 20th century, services began to be held in English, and by 1937, the church dropped its affiliation as a Norwegian Lutheran church.

Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.

(5523PC, Whitewater Historical Society)