Clearwater Evangelical Lutheran Church is a rural former place of worship near the Clearwater River in

Equality Township, Red Lake County, Minnesota Equality Township is a township in Red Lake County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 123 at the 2000 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (0.04%) is ...

. It served a congregation of

Norwegian Americans Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

which organized in 1898 under the name Clearwater Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Before building the church, they met in homes and log schoolhouses. The cornerstone of the church was dedicated in 1911 and the building was completed 1912 but not wired for electricity until 1949. Norwegian was taught in the church school until 1940 and into the 1950s some worship services were entirely in Norwegian. The church closed in 1988 due to declining membership. Together with the adjacent cemetery, it 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 v ...

in 1999.

References

1912 establishments in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Red Lake County, Minnesota Gothic Revival church buildings in Minnesota Lutheran churches in Minnesota Norwegian-American culture in Minnesota Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Churches completed in 1912 National Register of Historic Places in Red Lake County, Minnesota {{Minnesota-church-stub