Open house at Gran Church near Bagley on July 12
The Clearwater County Historical Society will hold its annual open house at Gran Church on Sunday July 12. 1:00- 4:00
The Church is located west of Bagley on Highway 2 to County Rd 20. Then one mile north to County Rd 45, turn right and travel about ¾ mile and the church and cemetery is on your right.
History of the church:
On July 13, 1897, the Gran church in Popple Township was completed after several months of construction. In a meeting held on April 15, 1897, a decision was made to build a house of worship. Two acres of land was donated by Simon Swenson. Ole Eneberg pledged $20.00 and Simon Eliason pledged $25.00 to build the church. Donations were received from various families amounting to $18.50 and Eric Rolland donated 4,000 sq. feet of shingles. Officers were also elected at the meeting. Rev. Nesseth was elected president, Ole Ysen, secretary. Ole Erickson, Mr. Nassen, Simon Eliason and Tollef Tollefson were elected trustees.
Over the years changes have been made to the building. In 1937, the chimney was rebuilt. In 1950, Peter and Dora (Halstenson) Strom paid to have electricity installed. Between the years 1989 and 1991, the building was restored with several new logs, a new floor and ceiling and the entire building was placed on a new foundation. Several years ago a new wood shingle roof replaced the old roof.
In 1973, the Clearwater County Historical Society placed a plaque on the building recognizing it as "The first church built in Clearwater County."
In 1988, the Church was named to the National Registry of Historic Places. For the past two years, the Clearwater County Historical Society received grants to evaluate the building and get recommendations for future work on the structure. This will be an on-going project over several years.
At the Open house on Sunday July 12, Historical Society Executive Director Tamara Edevold will be available to answer questions about the church and its on-going restoration. Tours of the grounds will be available until 4:00
For more information call 218-785-2000