La Crosse in La Crosse County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

First Complete Service of Christian Divine Worship

Photographed by Keith L, June 23, 2008

1. First Complete Service of Christian Divine Worship Marker

Inscription. This bluff (commonly called "Grandad Bluff") was the site of the first complete service of Christian Divine Worship to be conducted in La Crosse. The Reverend Father James Lloyd Breck and his company of pioneer missionaries, on the morning of June Twenty-Third, the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, Eighteen Hundred Fifty, climbed to the top of the bluff and celebrated the Holy Eucharist in accordance with the book of common prayer.

This commemorative marker dedicated on the one hundred twenty-fifth anniversary of the occasion by Christ Church Parish in conjunction with the La Crosse County Historical Society and the cooperation of the City of La Crosse.

Sunday June Twenty-Second
Anno Domini MCMLXXV

Erected 1975 by Christ Church Parish in conjunction with the La Crosse County Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Events • Religion & Religious Structures.

Location. 43° 48.765′ N, 91° 12.58′ W. Marker is in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in La Crosse County. It can be reached from Grandad Bluff Road 0.9 miles west of

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Bliss Road. The marker is attached to a large stone at the top of Grandad Bluff near the parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3200 Main Street, La Crosse WI 54601, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Western Wisconsin. It is also in the American Midwest,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Corn Belt,

in the Driftless Area — Bluff Country,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Grandad Bluff: The Making of a Park (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); History of Flagpole (about 400 feet away); Quarrying the Bluffs of La Crosse (about 500 feet away); La Crosse: "A Choice Town" (about 500 feet away); The Driftless Area of Wisconsin (about 500 feet away); Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel (approx. ¾ mile away); 21st and Cass (approx. 0.8 miles away);

Photographed by Keith L, June 23, 2008

2. First Complete Service of Christian Divine Worship Marker

19th and Main (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in La Crosse.

Also see . . .
1. The Life of the Reverend James Lloyd Breck. "We spent the Fourth Sunday after Trinity (June 23d) at Prairie La Crosse... We held service, and celebrated the Holy Communion in the morning, on a bluff about two miles back of the landing." (Submitted on March 1, 2009.)

2. Grandad Bluff. "Grandad Bluff was mentioned in Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain." (Submitted on March 1, 2009.)

La Crosse 2004 Panorama Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Keith L, June 23, 2008

3. La Crosse 2004 Panorama Sign

View from Grandad Bluff.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 13, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 1, 2009, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,434 times since then and 18 times this year. Last updated on April 12, 2023, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 1, 2009, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.