DAKOTA CITY — How did our forefathers do it?
Sitting in the “Old” Emmanuel Lutheran Church for the annual Vesper Service on one of the hottest Sundays of the summer, the question was asked — silently — as the sweat rolled off the brows of the two dozen who were in attendance at the oldest wood-framed church still standing in Nebraska.
The church’s long history, which dates back to 1860 (seven years before Nebraska officially became a state), was evident as a cooler full of bottled water and several strategically-placed fans tried in vain to keep cool those in attendance.
The church, which is cared for by the Dakota County Historical Society (DCHS), was built only 58 years after Lewis and Clark trudged through the area on their way west in their discovery of America in the early 19th century. It has seen quite a bit in its 164 years at its location at 1500 Hickory Street in Dakota City, and every summer the Dakota County Historical Society opens its doors for a “Vesper Service,” which is a regular worship service held in the late afternoon or evening.
The church was the first Lutheran church building constructed in the state and is the oldest building of its type still standing in Nebraska. An older building that had been built in Bellevue several years earlier burned down about a decade ago, according to Dennis Reiner, president of the DCHS.
The current structure came after plans to move a building to the location from South Sioux City went up in smoke — literally.
“The Lutherans in the area back in the 1850’s had found a building somewhere in South Sioux City and were in the process of moving it to Dakota City,” he said. “Prairie fires were common back in those days, and about halfway into its move a prairie fire came through and burned the building down.”
According to the DCHS’ website, the congregation was first served by Rev. Henry W. Kuhns, a missionary sent by the Allegheny Synod to the Nebraska Territory. Kuhns preached his first sermon in the front room of the old Bates House (hotel) in November 1850 and formally organized the church on July 22, 1859.
The membership immediately made plans to move an abandoned building from the long since-abandoned town of Pacific City, but those plans were thwarted when the structure was destroyed by a prairie fire while being moved to Dakota City.
The church that stands today was designed and built by Augustus T. Haase, a local carpenter and a member of the congregation. Built of redwood, the cost of the new wood-framed building was $2,000.
Locals put together some money to build the structure that stands today, and the church has seen a lot more than the usual Sunday services, weddings and funerals.
“It was a land office at one time, it was used as a courthouse,” Reinert said. “We probably only know half of what’s gone on in that church over the last 160 years.”
And it was good timing that got the church built — it opened its doors one year before the Civil War that ravaged America from 1861-1865.
“Had they delayed it, they would have never gotten it built because of the Civil War,” Reinert said. “They got the church built just in time.”
The church, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug. 14, 1973, traditionally opens twice during the year — for tours during the city’s Cottonwood Days celebration and the last Sunday in August for the annual Vesper Service, a tradition more than three decades old, according to Reinert.
About two dozen people were in attendance for the Vesper Service, with United Methodist Pastor Julie Raridan delivering the sermon with music provided by Benita Yacevich on the pump organ and singing by Dianna Spirk, both Dakota City residents.
And while most were able to make it through a Sunday afternoon service with temperatures in the 90’s, still the question was asked.
“The heat was pretty tough Sunday,” Reinert admitted. “It makes you wonder how they handled it in the old days, but they toughed it out.”
