Butte in Silver Bow County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Emanuel Lutheran Church
Butte National Historic Landmark District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, July 13, 2021
1. Emanuel Lutheran Church Marker
Inscription.
Emanuel Lutheran Church. Butte National Historic Landmark District. Immigrants to Butte during the mining boom often lived, socialized, and worshipped with fellow nationals. Swedish Lutherans first congregated in 1896, and in 1901 they built a small wooden chapel on the back of this lot. They quickly outgrew the building, which was a mattress factory when it burned in 1937. In 1912, the congregation, which kept its early records in Swedish, began construction of this brick church at a cost of $15,000. Modest compared to neighboring St. Mark’s a German Lutheran church, Emanuel Lutheran’s most prominent feature is its octagonal spire, which rests on a wooden tower ornamented with pinnacles and projecting gables. The steep pitch of the gables, lancet-arched tracery windows, and diagonal buttresses capped with contrasting sandstone trim all mark the church’s design as Gothic Revival. Butte Unity Truth Center, a nondenominational Christian church, purchased the building in 1958 when Emanuel Lutheran followed its congregants to the flats. By then Emanuel Lutheran no longer exclusively served Swedes; its days as an immigrant church, bringing comfort to worshippers far from home, were over.
Immigrants to Butte during the mining boom often lived, socialized, and worshipped with fellow nationals. Swedish Lutherans first congregated in 1896, and in 1901 they built a small wooden chapel on the back of this lot. They quickly outgrew the building, which was a mattress factory when it burned in 1937. In 1912, the congregation, which kept its early records in Swedish, began construction of this brick church at a cost of $15,000. Modest compared to neighboring St. Mark’s a German Lutheran church, Emanuel Lutheran’s most prominent feature is its octagonal spire, which rests on a wooden tower ornamented with pinnacles and projecting gables. The steep pitch of the gables, lancet-arched tracery windows, and diagonal buttresses capped with contrasting sandstone trim all mark the church’s design as Gothic Revival. Butte Unity Truth Center, a nondenominational Christian church, purchased the building in 1958 when Emanuel Lutheran followed its congregants to the flats. By then Emanuel Lutheran no longer exclusively served Swedes; its days as an immigrant church—bringing comfort to worshippers far from home—were over.
Location. 46° 0.59′ N, 112° 32.34′ W. Marker is in Butte, Montana, in Silver Bow County. Marker is at the intersection of South Montana Street and West Silver Street, on the right when traveling north on South Montana Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 300 South Montana Street, Butte MT 59701, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 11, 2021. It was originally submitted on November 11, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 74 times since then and 7 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 11, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
