Churches
Churches came into being as soon as European settlers came to Southwestern Dane County and the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. Baptist and Methodist Americans and Scottish Presbyterians brought their religion with them to Black Earth, Mount Vernon and Old Town Mount Horeb. In many cases, the area attracted certain ethnic groups because churches had been established by earlier pioneers. German and Irish Catholics settled around Holy Redeemer in Perry township and St. Mary's of Pine Bluff. Norwegians soon had a number of Lutheran churches throughout the area serving the growing clusters of Norse settlers.
Burying grounds of the American Protestant denominations were usually sited away from the church grounds. This was also the case with the Catholic and Lutheran churches based in the metropolitan area of Mount Horeb. The other country churches and especially the Norwegian Lutherans buried their deceased in graveyards adjacent to churches. Today many of the cemeteries are still administered by an adjacent church but in some cases the original churches have ceased to exist. A Wisconsin law transfers cemetery maintenance responsibilities to the Township in which the cemetery is located if the founding organization can no longer care for it.
Looking at the cluster of buildings on the maps, one can see the communities that formed around these essential institutions. During the days of smaller scale family farms, the larger rural population kept churches, schools, cheeses factories and, regrettably, cemeteries in business. These institutions gave structure, and meaning to people's lives and helped to develop the rich sense of place for which the Driftless area is known.
NOTE: We are not responsible for information from offsite links. Please contact these resources directly with additions and corrections.
Burying grounds of the American Protestant denominations were usually sited away from the church grounds. This was also the case with the Catholic and Lutheran churches based in the metropolitan area of Mount Horeb. The other country churches and especially the Norwegian Lutherans buried their deceased in graveyards adjacent to churches. Today many of the cemeteries are still administered by an adjacent church but in some cases the original churches have ceased to exist. A Wisconsin law transfers cemetery maintenance responsibilities to the Township in which the cemetery is located if the founding organization can no longer care for it.
Looking at the cluster of buildings on the maps, one can see the communities that formed around these essential institutions. During the days of smaller scale family farms, the larger rural population kept churches, schools, cheeses factories and, regrettably, cemeteries in business. These institutions gave structure, and meaning to people's lives and helped to develop the rich sense of place for which the Driftless area is known.
NOTE: We are not responsible for information from offsite links. Please contact these resources directly with additions and corrections.
Springdale Lutheran Church (MHAHS Image PC.356)
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United Methodist Church of Mount Horeb (MHAHS Image PC.301)
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St. Mary's of Pine Bluff Church (MHAHS Image PC.319)
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Churches: Click the church names below for more information including photos, maps, descriptions, etc.
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Interactive Map:
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Links and References:
Dane County Historical Society- maps, articles
Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society- tax records, images, oral history, publications:
Mount Horeb - Presettlement to 1986. Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society, 1986
History of the Township of Primrose. Mary Hanna Zumbrunnen, 1990
The Historic Perry Norwegian Settlement. The Perry Historical Center, Daleyville. 1954
The History of the Town of Mount Vernon, 1846-1996.
The Town of Vermont – "The Early Years" 1846 – 1890. Marian Swoboda
Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin : 1848-1998 -Carol Riley Statz, chairperson/secretary
University of Wisconsin Digital Collection - Madison Public Library - online resources: plat maps; Wisconsin Dairy and Food Commission / Semi-annual bulletin of the Dairy and Food Commission of the state of Wisconsin; Klueter, Harry / Directory of Wisconsin dairy manufacturing plants.
Wisconsin State Historical Society- maps, articles, photographs, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory for architectural information, etc.
Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society- tax records, images, oral history, publications:
Mount Horeb - Presettlement to 1986. Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society, 1986
History of the Township of Primrose. Mary Hanna Zumbrunnen, 1990
The Historic Perry Norwegian Settlement. The Perry Historical Center, Daleyville. 1954
The History of the Town of Mount Vernon, 1846-1996.
The Town of Vermont – "The Early Years" 1846 – 1890. Marian Swoboda
Town of Springdale, Dane County, Wisconsin : 1848-1998 -Carol Riley Statz, chairperson/secretary
University of Wisconsin Digital Collection - Madison Public Library - online resources: plat maps; Wisconsin Dairy and Food Commission / Semi-annual bulletin of the Dairy and Food Commission of the state of Wisconsin; Klueter, Harry / Directory of Wisconsin dairy manufacturing plants.
Wisconsin State Historical Society- maps, articles, photographs, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory for architectural information, etc.
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