Church of the Good Shepherd is a historic church at 601 Cole Street off U.S. Route 169 in

Coleraine, Minnesota Coleraine is a city in Itasca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,970 at the 2010 census. The community was named after Thomas F. Cole, President of the Oliver Iron Mining Company. U.S. Highway 169 serves as a main route in ...

. The church is also known as "The Log Church" and was built in 1908. John C. Greenway, a member of the parish, supervised the construction of the church. The logs were harvested from a patch of land that had previously never been logged. The interior is built entirely of wood, and the altar rail and

lectern A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...

are made of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

logs. The church was dedicated by Bishop James Dow Morrison on November 15, 1908. The church was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1980. It closed on December 26, 1982, due to declining enrollment. In March 1987, its owner, Christ Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids deeded the church to the city, with the understanding that it would be restored and maintained to continue to qualify for the National Register. The community organized a Log Church Preservation Committee to perform maintenance and restoration tasks. The church is available for weddings, special events, and cultural events.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places 1908 establishments in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Itasca County, Minnesota Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Churches completed in 1908 Episcopal church buildings in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Itasca County, Minnesota Log buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota