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V1 % o I- U :::> ~ I- V) % w w V') PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) o Pre.Columbian I 0 16th Century o 15th Century 0 17th Century o 18th Century !Xl 19th Century o 20th Century SPECIFIC DA.TE(S) (If Applicable andKnown) 1852< AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Abar iginal 0 Educati on 0 Political 0 Urban Planning 0 Prehistoric o Engineering OCJ Religion/Phi- IKI Other (Specify) 0 Historic 0 Industry losophy l:~thnic histnry 0 Agriculture 0 Inventi on 0 Science IKl Architecture 0 Landscape 0 Sculpture 0 Art Architecture 0 Socia I/Human- 0 Commerce 0 Li terature itarian 0 Communications 0 Military 0 Theater 0 Conservation 0 Music 0 Trans portaticn STATEMENT OF SiGNIFICANCE The Hauge Log Church is one of three churches still on their original sites constructed i~ 1852 by members of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America. It was the first Norwegian Lutheran Church built in western Wisconsin, and its restoration in 1927 makes it one of the early restored structures in the state. In 1852 it was used as the first school in the area until a permanent structure was built in 1853. The Hauge Church was significant in the historical development of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in Wisconsin. The area was settled by members of the official Norwegian State Church and also by followers of Hans Niel- son Hauge, a reformer jailed in Norway (1804-1814) for his religious beliefs. Neither faction had a meeting house, so in the winter of 1851 they agreed to build one together. All labor and materials were to be donated, and each man was assigned a quota of logs to cut and dress. The first church service was held May 27, 1852, but sh6rtly after the dedication the conflict between the two sects increased to the point that members of one group would lock the other out of the church. In 1858 the members of the State Church built their own building in Daleyville. The members of the Hauge Church continued to use the log church until . 1887 when they built a new church elsewhere. The Hauge Log Church remained unoccupied except for occasional use for the storage of hay until 1926 when members of both sects started a move- ment ~o donate the structure to Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, to be part of the church museum. This movement created such local interest in the church that it was decided to keep the building on its site and re- store it as a memorial to the region's early pioneers. Since the restoration was completed in 1927 the church has been used periodically for memorial services. Adjacent to the church is a small cemetery where members of the first congregation are buried. The earliest grave dates from 1852 and con- tains the remains of Arne Ruste who cut the first log used in building the church. Architecturally, the building has only the slightest hint of Greek Re- vival stylisms and must be considered largely a ~rnacular structure.