RELIGION

Catholic
Congregational
Lutheran
Methodist
Presbyterian

Catholic

St. Mary's R. C. Church. The earliest records of services being held in the Catholic faith in Port Washington were those held in the homes of parishioners in 1847, when the congregation contained just three families. By 1849, the congregation numbered twelve families and a small frame church (non-extant) called St. Mary's Church was built in that year on two lots on the bluff north of the downtown donated to the congregation by Hiram Johnson, for whom Johnson St. would later be named. By 1860, regular services were being held, a school had been started and plans for a new church were begun. "On the first of July, 1860, the cornerstone of the present [1881] church edifice was laid, the building completed the same year at a cost of $7000. It is a handsome stone structure, 40x80 feet."(1) A new school building –a two-story brick building, 33x60 feet –was completed next to the 1860 church in 1870 and a sister house for the teaching order of nuns who ran it was attached to the rear of the south wall of the school as well (all non-extant).(2) By 1881, this predominantly German-speaking congregation numbered almost 1100 members and plans for a new church were begun, the plans being provided by prominent Milwaukee architect Henry Messmer. The large new cut stone Gothic Revival style church ca.431 N. Johnson St. (NRHP 12-12-77), was finished at a total cost of $70,000 in 1884 and its size and highly prominent position upon the bluff top instantly made it the city's most visible landmark. In about 1900 a new Queen Anne Style brick rectory (non-extant) was built just to the west of the church, and in 1911, a new brick American Foursquare Style convent for the sisters was built (430 N. Johnson St.) next door to the 1870 one. In 1916, a new school building (446 N. Johnson St.) was built on the site of the 1860 church building and the 1870 school building and convent and it was expanded in 1952.(3) Today, these three buildings–church, school, and convent/parish hall–are still in very good condition and in active use on the site that is still sometimes called "St. Mary's Heights" or "Church Hill."

St. Ambrose R. C. Church. The much smaller frame construction clapboard-clad St. Ambrose church (non-extant) was built in 1909 on the corner of Montgomery Street and W. Pierre Lane to serve the needs of the Lithuanian immigrants who came to the city around the turn of the century. The church was finally discontinued in 1964 and torn down in the same year.(4)

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Congregational

The Congregational Society is one of Port Washington's newer church organizations, having been organized in 1898 to provide services for the city's English-speaking Protestant minority. Work was begun on a church for the congregation in the same year on a donated lot located a block north of the Grand Avenue bridge (at the point where Grand Avenue crosses Sauk Creek). "The design was to build what should be the basement of a future building and put on a temporary roof. This building was built of brick, finished and opened for services at Christmas (1898). It was dedicated in January, 1899. This part of the building is now [1948] used for the Sunday School rooms and kitchen."(5) By 1911, the congregation had grown to the point where the construction of the main part of the church was needed. "Mr. William Thommen, Designer for the Wisconsin Chair Company, donated his services as architect of the building, and he and Mr. [J. R.] Dennett supervised the construction. Woodwork and materials were purchased at cost or less through the Chair Company."(6) The resulting wood shingle-clad Shingle Style design church (131 N. Webster St.) was dedicated on December 22, 1912. Later additions were made to the church in 1954 to a design by O. C. Kempf, and again in the early 1990s.(7) The church is still used by its congregation today.

Lutheran

German Evangelical Lutheran Friedens (Peace) Church. The first Lutheran church congregation in Port Washington was a German-speaking one founded in 1853. After first meeting in the village school house, members decided in 1856 to build a church on a lot purchased by the congregation on the southwest corner of N. Harrison and W. Van Buren streets, the site of the present church. This church was completed in 1857 as the German Evangelical Lutheran Friedens (Peace) Church and it was afterwards expanded in 1872 by the addition of a tall stone bell tower. In addition, a brick two-story Italianate Style parsonage (non-extant) was constructed next door and to the south of the church in 1882.

By 1888, the still increasing membership of the church made the construction of a new church building necessary. As a result, church officials commissioned a fine Gothic Revival style cream brick design from an as yet unidentified architect and construction began in 1889. Building the church (455 N. Harrison St.) cost the congregation $7394 and the dedication was held on October 9, 1889.

By 1896, the need for a separate school building for the congregation had become acute, so two lots adjacent to (west of) the church were purchased in that year. The two-story school itself was not built until 1901, however, and this building is no longer extant. In addition, a wing was added to the parsonage in 1899. In 1972, the old parsonage and the school building were both razed and new buildings were constructed in 1973. The new parsonage is a modern split-level residence that was built on the site of the original parsonage, while the new one-story school was attached to the rear of the church.(8). Yet another addition was added to the south elevation of the church in 1990.

St. John's Lutheran Church. The other historic Lutheran Church in Port Washington is St. John's Lutheran Church. The St. John's congregation was formed by previous members of the Friedens Church in 1890. This group had worshipped informally in other area churches since 1872, but it was not until 1889 that they formed their own official congregation and purchased a church of their own; the old Greek Revival Style frame construction Presbyterian Church (non-extant) located at the corner of N. Milwaukee and W. Main streets. A full basement was placed underneath this church in 1898 and the congregation continued to use it until 1913, when the growth of the congregation and its merger with the Norwegian Lutheran Church, located west of Port Washington, made the need for a new church building critical. A new site (the present one) had been purchased in 1911 in anticipation of this event, and in 1913 construction on the new brick Gothic Revival Style church began. The new church (403 W. Foster St.) cost $11,285 and it was dedicated on February 15, 1914. By 1949, however, subsequent growth made an expansion of the church a necessity, so a design for a large 54-foot addition was produced by Sheboygan architect Edgar A. Stubenrauch in 1950, and construction on the addition was completed in 1951 and the church rededicated on February 25, 1951.(9) Subsequently, a new education building was constructed to the west of the church in 1957 and the main facade of the church was remodeled in celebration of the congregations' 75th anniversary in 1965.(10)

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Methodist

Methodist Episcopal Church. Port Washington developed two distinct Methodist churches, each of which was associated with a different ethnic group. The first meetings of the English Methodists occurred in 1843 and were the earliest religious services conducted in Port Washington. Originally, this group met in member's homes and then in the public school, and it was not until 1851 that the group set about building a church on a lot on the . This church was subsequently rebuilt in 1877 and was described in 1881 as "a cosy brick structure, 40x60 feet with one auditorium for public services, and a basement used for Sabbath school purposes. It is the only English-speaking church now in organization in the village."(11) In 1893, the Methodist Episcopal congregation (as the church was officially called) built a new church on the same site (107-109 E. Washington St.), a brick and wood shingle-clad Shingle Style building that has since been demolished.(12) The congregation remained in this church until at least 1915 but eventually merged with the German Methodist Church congregation (see below).

German Methodist Church. The second Methodist church in Port Washington was that of the German-speaking congregation, which first took form in Port Washington in 1852. This congregation also met in the public schoolhouse until it was able to build its own church, which it did in 1862 on the corner of W. Jackson and N. Milwaukee streets. This was a small brick Greek Revival Style building (non-extant) that the congregation gradually outgrew.(13) By 1898, the need for a new church had grown serious enough to warrant the purchasing of an acre of land on W. Grand Ave. and in 1900 a fine brick Gothic Revival Style church was built on this site (non-extant) at a cost of $5648. In 1960 a new educational unit was built and in 1967 the present Modern Movement Style church was built on the site (505 W. Grand Ave.) to replace the 1900 church.(14)

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Presbyterian

The Port Washington Presbyterian congregation was formed in 1845 and, like several other early city churches, first met in the schoolhouse. In 1854, local merchant Barnum Blake deeded a lot to the congregation, who proceeded to erect a small Greek Revival Style frame church (non-extant) on the lot, located at the corner of N. Milwaukee and W. Main streets. The congregation continued to use their church until 1864, when it was dissolved. Subsequently, the church was purchased in 1890 by the St. John's Lutheran Church, which put a full basement underneath and used it until 1913, when they built their new church on W. Grand Ave. Since then, the Milwaukee St. church building has been demolished.(15)

NOTES ON SOURCES

The best source of information on the early history of the churches in Port Washington up to 1881 is the History of Washington & Ozaukee Counties, Wisconsin, written in that year. For a good history of the First Congregational Church of Port Washington and its congregation up to 1948 see: Program & History: Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Congregational Church of Port Washington, Wisconsin. The best source for the German Evangelical Lutheran Friedens Church is the Friedens United Church of Christ Church: Port Washington, Wisconsin, 1854-1979 (125th Anniversary Booklet); and the best source for the St. John's Lutheran Church is the Rededication: February 25, 1951, St. John's Lutheran Church: Port Washington. Rededication Ceremony Booklet. The best source for the Methodist churches and for an overview of the various churches in the city as of 1960 is the Ozaukee Press 125th Anniversary Issue, July 28, 1960, and as of 1985, is the Ozaukee Press Sesquicentennial Issue, September 5, 1985, part 7.

EXTANT RESOURCES SURVYED

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Friedens United Church of Christ Church: Port Washington, Wisconsin, 1854-1979. Port Washington: 1979. 125th Anniversary Booklet.

History of Washington & Ozaukee Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1881.

Ozaukee Press: July 28, 1960, (125th Anniversary Issue).

Ozaukee Press: September 5, 1985, Part 7 (Sesquicentennial Issue).

Port Washington: The Little City of Seven Hills. Port Washington: 1908.

The Port Washington Star. July 4, 1898. Semi-Centennial Issue.

Program & History: Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Congregational Church of Port Washington, Wisconsin. Port Washington, 1948.

Rededication: February 25, 1951, St. John's Lutheran Church: Port Washington. Rededication Ceremony Booklet. Port Washington: 1951.

St. Mary's Church: 1853-1978. Port Washington, 1978.

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FOOTNOTES

1. History of Washington & Ozaukee Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1881, p. 517.

2. Ibid. See also: St. Mary's Church: 1853-1978. Port Washington, 1978, n.p., but contains photos of the 1860 church and the original 1870 school building and convent.

3. Ibid. See also: Ozaukee Press: July 28, 1960, Part 5, pp. 12-13; September 5, 1985, Part 7. p. 20.

4. Port Washington: 1835-1985. Port Washington: 1985, pp. 27-28. Sesquicentennial Booklet. See also: Port Washington Centennial: 1835-1935. Port Washington: 1935, p. 7 (photo). Centennial Booklet.

5. Program & History: Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Congregational Church of Port Washington, Wisconsin. Port Washington, 1948, pp. 10-11.

6. Ibid, p. 14.

7. Ozaukee Press: September 5, 1985, Part 7. p. 22. See also: Ozaukee Press: July 28, 1960, Part 4. p. 14.

8. Friedens United Church of Christ Church: Port Washington, Wisconsin, 1854-1979. 125th Anniversary Booklet, n.p.

9. Rededication: February 25, 1951, St. John's Lutheran Church: Port Washington. Rededication Ceremony Booklet. Port Washington: 1951, pp. 14-19.

10. Ozaukee Press: September 5, 1985, Part 7. p. 22.

11. History of Washington & Ozaukee Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1881, pp. 517-518.

12. The Port Washington Star. July 4, 1898, p. 2 (see also the photo in the Illustrated section of this issue). See also: Port Washington: The Little City of Seven Hills. Port Washington: 1908, p. 34 (photo).

13. Ozaukee Press: September 5, 1985, Part 7. p. 1 (photo).

14. Ozaukee Press: July 28, 1960, Part 5. p. 4 (photo). See also: Ozaukee Press: September 5, 1985, Part 7. p. 20. See also: Port Washington: The Little City of Seven Hills. Port Washington: 1908, p. 37 (photo).

15. History of Washington & Ozaukee Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1881, pp. 518. See also: Port Washington: The Little City of Seven Hills. Port Washington: 1908, p. 34 (photo).

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