Valley Grove (Nerstrand, Minnesota)
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Valley Grove | |
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Valley Grove viewed from the north | |
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| Location | 9999 Valley Grove Road (155th St E) |
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| Nearest city | Nerstrand, Minnesota |
| Coordinates | 44°21′41.61″N 93°6′2.36″W / 44.3615583°N 93.1006556°WCoordinates: 44°21′41.61″N 93°6′2.36″W / 44.3615583°N 93.1006556°W |
| Built | 1862, 1894 |
| Architect | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Governing body | Private |
| MPS | Rice County MRA |
| NRHP Reference # | 82003026[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 6, 1982 |
Valley Grove refers to two religious buildings built on a grassy knoll by Norwegian immigrants near Nerstrand in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Greek Revival churches are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The older stone building was built in 1862 and is currently undergoing renovation; the Valley Grove Preservation Society obtained a fifty-year lease on the building from the Valley Grove Grace Cemetery Association in 2007. The other church was built just a few steps away in 1894 and features white clapboard siding. The newer building has already been renovated and is utilized by locals for matrimonial ceremonies and concerts. In the adjacent cemetery, many of the headstones are in Norwegian, and the graveyard contains the Veblen family plot, who lived at the nearby Thorstein Veblen Farmstead.[2][3]
The church is located at 9999 155th St E, part of Valley Grove Road (Rice County 30).
Muus
In 1859, the Norwegian pastor, Bernt Julius Muus baptized 52 children on the site;[3] Muus was born in Snåsa, Trøndelag, Norway and completed his theological training in 1854 before emigrating in 1859. Although his achievements were great, he was brusque and uncompromising; as a result he was expelled from the church for failure to conform to doctrine. In 1875 he helped found St. Olaf College.
References
- ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
- ↑ Nord, Mary Ann (2003). The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 0-87351-448-3.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Valley Grove Preservation Society". Retrieved 2007-12-14.
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