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Zion Baptist, Minneapolis

A headline in the Minneapolis Tribune dated May 20, 1889 proclaims “Laying A Stone: Services at the Dedication of the Zion Baptist Church.” It goes on to report “Yesterday was a great day in the history of this city and St. Paul. The occasion was no less important than the dedication and laying [sic] of the corner stone of the Zion Baptist Church, corner of Fillmore and Spring Streets northeast.” The location is a bit surprising, but as the reporter goes on to observe: “The throng which had assembled to witness the celebration embraced nearly every nationality known to the Northwest”.

Zion Society for Israel, Minneapolis

According to the WPA Report, in the spring of 1878, a group of Scandinavian Lutherans met in Rochester, Minnesota, to consider organizing a regional "Zion Society for the liberation of Jews."  Their mission was "to work for the conversion and the salvation of Israel." The society was officially organized on June 24, 1878 in Stoughton, Wisconsin.  By 1881, it was sending out missionaries, first to Russia and later to Palestine, and in 1882 missionaries were working within the United States.  The Minneapolis chapter was formed in 1913 by the Reverend J.P. Gjertsen, Professor Sven R.

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About This Project

This project documents the congregations and houses of worship that developed within the earliest neighborhoods in Twin Cities between 1849 and 1924.. Among the topics explored are communities, ethnicity and identity, relationships among congregations, intra-congregational interactions, class structure, and the role of houses of worship.