Kandiyohi County's First Church

Kandiyohi County's First Church. . , A Congregation and the Conflict , Kandiyohi County's first church once stood near here. Housed in an abandoned log cabin, the first congregation gathered in 1859 to hold its services. The congregation was called New Sweden and later became known as the Lebanon Lutheran Church of New London. , A man by the name of Andrew Jackson served as the congregation's pastor. His tenure lasted from 1861 to 1865 and it witnessed great tragedy. On August 20, 1862, settlers belonging to his congregation were faced with grave danger as a result of the U.S.-Dakota Conflict. Two of Jackson's services were interrupted by warnings of violence and news of death. Heeding calls of what was to become known as the West Lake Massacre, Jackson disregarded personal safety and rode to warn all of his parishioners of the impending attacks. , Twenty members of Jackson's New Sweden congregation were killed in the conflict. As a result, many surviving settlers chose to leave the township of New London - never to return. The remaining congregation continued to use the old log cabin until 1866., The U.S.-Dakota Conflict was one of the saddest events in local and state history. It started when the Dakota hoped to regain lands for their starving families. Many settlers and Dakota were tragically killed in what is now Kandiyohi County., State of Minnesota Monument , Lebanon Cemetery , New London, MN, The monument stands over the remains of 13 victims of the West Lake Massacre., Revered Andrew Jackson, The former church site is located 1.3 miles north of this sign on Long Lake Road.