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The history of the Troy Lutheran Church starts with Swedish pioneer settlers coming to Troy in 1883 and 1884. The first service was held in the home of Paul Smith in the fall of 1885 with Pastor Peter Carlson preaching. Since there was no building for services and no home for the pastor, the pastor was only asked to preach every fourth Sunday. By 1886, the pioneers had organized the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Westdala Church. On May 31, 1891, the congregation decided to build a church and held their first service on New Year’s Day, 1892. In 1895 through 1914, many changes were made to the church. In 1899 a tract of land was secured on Burnt Ridge for a cemetery, which was named Westdala Lutheran Cemetery, but by 1950 the name was changed to Burnt Ridge Cemetery. In 1901, lots were donated to the church by O.A. Johnson which was used as ground where the church now stands. The building was officially moved over by 1902. That same year several renovations were made to the church’s interior and exterior, including the addition of a church bell. In 1907 an addition to the church and a parsonage were built. At first the church belonged to the parish of First Lutheran Church in Moscow and was served by their pastors, but in 1907, a separation was effected and since then the Troy church called its own pastors. Finally in 1914, a basement under the church-building was made. Throughout the 1900’s membership numbers were over 100 members with about half of the members being children. Troy’s Norwegian Lutheran Church, Trinity Lutheran had a majority of their members joining the Westdala congregation and due to financial problems in 1949; the building was donated to Westdala and eventually torn down. Because the community could not support two congregations, the care of the church was put under the Augustana Lutheran Synod. In 1950, the church name was changed to Troy Evangelical Lutheran Church and in 1962; the churches were officially merged, retaining the name Troy Lutheran Church. By then, the Troy Lutheran church was the only “Swedish” congregation in the area.
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