Historic Church returns to the ground...

The historic Henrytown Lutheran Church has returned to the ground on which it stood.

A fire destroyed the 138 year old church on April 16th, 2015

Henrytown Lutheran Church, Photo from "Google images"

Not just any church but the church my dad attended as a boy. 

Right behind the church is the cemetery were my paternal grandparents and 

Great-grandparents were laid to rest, along with a number of other distant relatives.

Sadly there is nothing but the foundation left of this building in which 187 folks attended on any given Sunday morning. According to news reports, the congregation plans to rebuild, but for now they will travel 11 miles down the road to attend their sister church, United Prairie Lutheran Church near Lanesboro MN. (The two churches share the same minister)

Erickson.... My paternal grandparents

The smoldering rubble of the church is in front of the pines in the center of the photo.

I have visited this church and cemetery many times to pay respect to the graves of my relatives.
 It saddened me to hear about the fire. I just had to go and see it for myself....

Rick and I traveled down to Henrytown, which is southeast of Preston MN, not far from the Minnesota/Iowa border to view what remained of my Dad's boyhood church...

 From the parking lot we notice a make-shift cross made from charred wood,
stones placed around it's base to hold it erect.

 Some walls of the stone foundation remain standing

 still smoldering

 a brick wall remains intact

The winds pushed the fire to the edge of the nearest grave sites.
 Only the grass was singed, luckily no damage to the head stones.

The Church Sign remains....awaiting it's building.

A "Go Fund me" page has been started to help fund a new church building,
just thought I would pass it along in case anyone feels so inclined to help this
small farm community rebuild their church.   :)
Rebuild Henrytown Lutheran Church