Martell Methodist Traditional Cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Looking for a camo jar with room for trade items.
Cache is not on any grave markers. Please be respectful if families are visiting loved ones; come back another time if needed. There are old stones here, and the grounds could use more care. Feel free to spend a few minutes wiping grass off the stones or pulling weeds.
Note: the church is now the Martell Town Hall. Cache is not near this building.
Martell Methodist Episcopal / United Methodist
Martell’s only Methodist congregation was formed in 1859 under the leadership of Nils Christopherson (Hovde), a Norwegian immigrant who converted to Methodism. During two visits to his home region in Norway, attracted many Norwegians from the Drammen and Modum regions to the Upper Midwest. Early church members, some of them in New Centerville and Gilman Township, met in area homes and schoolhouses until a decision was made to build a church. The congregation built a humble parsonage for visiting preachers several years before they chose to erect a church in 1873-74 at New Centerville, St. Croix County. Nils Christopherson was appointed pastor. He remained in that capacity, though still serving several circuit churches, until 1880, when he requested to become inactive, and was replaced by P. B. Smith. That same year, the church became part of the Norwegian-Danish Methodist Conference. By 1897, the church had 75 members.
In 1900, under the oversight of Pastor John Lorentz, the church building was moved from New Centerville as a result of changing membership and the construction there of a larger church building. Rebuilt by John Finstad on land donated by Johann Wiff a half mile west of the village of Martell, it still stands at the intersection of State Highway 63 and County Road Y, adjacent to a community cemetery established before 1870. It was dedicated as Martell Methodist Episcopal Church in 1901.
Nels Kolberg then arrived from Norway to take charge of the Hartland, Viking and Martell churches. He remained a dynamic pastor to all three churches between 1921 and 1941, when he was reassigned to Ellsworth and Diamond Bluff in addition to Hartland. The Martell congregation, which until that year held services only in Norwegian, was united with the Hammond and New Centerville churches, both in St. Croix County, under A. J. Dale. The Martell church was then completely rebuilt, adding a basement.
In 1951, after Harvey Anderson left the pastorate, another forward thinking event occurred with the appointment of Ethel Nulton, the church’s first female pastor. She oversaw the installation of six colored memorial windows and the addition of a new communion table, rug and roof. Pastor James Hansen, organized the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) for the young people of the congregation in 1957. In 1974, the congregation bought land across from the church and built a baseball field that provided numerous hours of community entertainment. The church was renamed as the Martell United Methodist Church. An addition with a social room and bathroom facilities was added in 1987.
After 100 years of serving the Methodist community in Martell, the church saw its congregation begin to fall to one third of its peak size. After valiant efforts to attract new members, the congregation voted to disband in 2006. Its historic building is now used as the Martell Town Hall.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Wnpbofba