Decorah: A Walk into the Past

Decorah: A Walk into the Past. Water Street Trail. , The Founding of Luther College , Luther College opened in September 1861 in a vacant parsonage at Halfway Creek, Wisconsin, near La Crosse, with 11 students. The Norwegian Synod, the governing body of the Norwegian Lutheran congregations, selected Decorah as the site of its college, but failed to locate adequate facilities in Decorah for the first year of operation. The primary purpose of the college was to provide education in preparation for theological study and service in the pastoral ministry of the Lutheran congregations established by immigrants from Norway. From the beginning, however, the school welcomed any student who might benefit from the education it offered for other professional goals as well. The Synod appointed the Rev. Peter Laurentius (Laur.) Larsen as president and professor at the opening of the college, and the Rev. Friedrich A. Schmidt as his colleague. , The Early Years , The Rev. Ulrik Vilhelm Koren, pioneer pastor throughout northeastern Iowa, but identified primarily with the Washington Prairie Lutheran congregation, was a key leader in the formation and development of Luther College. He secured an option on 32 acres of land in West Decorah for the eventual campus of the college and the Synod approved this site. The college moved to Decorah in the summer of 1862 to a temporary location in The Otis Building (later the St. Cloud Hotel) at the southeast corner of Winnebago and Main streets. The building still stands across the street to the north from this sign. There it remained for three years, 1862 to 1865, until the completion of the first Main on the West Decorah campus. In the basement were a large kitchen, dining room, pantry, cellarage, and living quarters for the stewards. The first floor contained one classroom and an apartment for President Larsen and his family. The second floor had a 7-by-7-foot office for the president, two classrooms, and two sleeping rooms that accommodated students. The floor above this was a large sleeping room for 25 students. Prof. Schmidt and his family lived in Judge Griswold’s former home at the corner of what is now Leif Erikson Drive and Center Street in West Decorah. , Thirty-four students registered the first year in Decorah. The daily schedule allowed little individual freedom, up at 5:30 a.m. and in bed at 10 p.m., with precisely stated times for worship, classes, meals, study, and breaks. Each class had a prescribed curriculum, with no electives. Once a month there was a day free of classes, so that the students could clean their rooms and the halls. , The College Grows , Because attendance increased to 51 in 1863, the Synod purchased the adjacent lot west of the Otis Building and built an annex for student housing. A kiln on the West Decorah campus furnished bricks for the building. The students named it “Huttetu,” an epithet from a Norwegian nursery rhyme:

Huttetu, jeg fryser saa, , Jeg er alltid kald pa beina., Translation: , Huttetu, I'm freezing so. , My feet feel just like ice.

The house was cold in the winter and hot in the warmer months. Students were less than pleased with their accommodation. , On October 14, 1865, the Norwegian Synod dedicated the first Main building on Luther College's permanent campus in West Decorah. This was a major festive event for the immigrant Norwegian-Americans. It was an ambitious project for a relatively small, economically modest community. Though there was no official count of those present for the dedication, estimates range as high as six thousand. , [photo captions] , . View from Pleasant Hill ca. 1860 shows the Otis building across the street from the 1857 courthouse. , . Laurentius Larsen and Friedrich Schmidt, Luther’s first two professors as the appeared in their first years at Luther. , . The first Main Building at Luther College can be seen on the western horizon in this view from Pleasant Hill ca. 1880 with Luther’s first home and first dormitory just off the photo at the corner of W. Main and Winnebago Streets. , . 1913 Norwegian Singers of America convention photographed by the Longstreet Brothers shows Huttetu, the dormitory Luther College built to house their students, and the first home of Luther College to the right of it behind the singers. By 1913 the former Luther building was the St. Charles Hotel. , Funding for this sign provided by: Luther College