The best way to start talking history is at the beginning and as the Right Reverend Robert Anderson, our former Bishop said to us as a congregation, "Your roots are deep in the soil of Minnesota."

Continuous Episcopal services have been held in Little Falls for 141 years. That's a long time ago. The population of Little Falls was an exaggerated 600 rugged individuals. Minnesota gained statehood that year. Gas lights were introduced in St. Paul, but candles were the source of light in Little Falls. The source of water in the winter was ice melting on the back of the kitchen range and transportation was by foot, horse, ox cart or by canoe.

Foundations

The Right Reverend Jackson Kemper, first Episcopal Bishop of the Northwest Territory, arrived in Little Falls by canoe in 1858. He met with local Episcopalians and arrangements were made for future services. The first Episcopal service was held December 17, 1858, by the Reverend E. Steele Peake, Missionary Priest of the St. Columba on the Crow Wing, and was held in the Little Falls Village School House.

It is interesting to speculate where the Episcopal Indian Mission was on the Crow Wing. We do know that a tribe of Ojibwa Indians were located at the confluence of the Crow Wing and Mississippi Rivers, so we can narrow it down to between the northeast corner of Camp Ripley and the city of Pillager.

The Reverend Peake held services every other week at the school house, the hotel, or in the Methodist place of worship until he resigned in 1862 to become a Chaplain in the Union Army during the Civil War. The Reverend Peake's place was taken by other Missionary Priests, to name some. Reverends Elwell, Steward, Gilfillan, and Root.

The first priest in residence was the Reverend F.J. Tassell in 1883. The first Episcopal Church of Our Savior was built in 1869, a wood frame building located on 1st Street N.E. between 3rd and 4th Avenue which would place it across the street from the Hayden residence.

The parish was officially organized January 27, 1885. The Senior Warden was W.S. Martin, the Junior Warden Edmund Rothwell, my grandfather.

The church was consecrated the same year by the Right Reverend Henry B. Whipple, first Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota, an outstanding churchman, a missionary at heart and a strong advocate of the Indian and Indian Nations. To give you an appreciation of the man and his stature, I would like to relate a story.

During the Civil War, Minnesota was not only furnishing regiments of fighting men to the Union Army but was also fighting a fierce and cruel Indian War with the Sioux Nation in southern and western Minnesota. With the ending of the Indian War, 303 Indian warriors were charged with atrocities, tried and found guilty by the Army Court and sentenced to be hung. Bishop Whipple wrote letters to President Lincoln pointing out the injustices being done by the Military Court and traveled to Washington to meet with President Lincoln, as a result 264 Indians were pardoned or their sentences reduced, the remaining 39 were executed at a mass hanging in Mankato, Minnesota.

Building for the Future

The wood frame church was moved to the site of our present Church of Our Savior in 1900. Our present sanctuary was built while the Reverend Francis Alleyne was rector. The corner stone was laid for the new church, September 15, 1903, and construction was completed in 1904 at the cost of $10,000.00. The old church was sold to the Swedish Methodists. The Church of Our Savior was consecrated November 13, 1910, (when the debt was paid) by the Right Reverend James Dow Morrison, first Episcopal Bishop of Duluth.

Our church was built in the Queen Anne style. The architect was John Lutcliff of Chicago and the builder was Louis Triplett of Little Falls; and it has been recognized as a architectural gem by Gebhart and Robinson in a "Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota".

The church is 86 feet long and 38 feet wide at the nave and 56 feet at chancel. The outer walls are granite boulder with black mortar for six feet and grout and wood panels above. The roof was built with heavy wood trusses. The pews, nave, choir area, and altar are finished in weathered oak. The church was built to seat 350 and is now on the United States Department of Interior Register of Historical Buildings.

The Organ

A reed organ was installed when the church was built but did not appear adequate for the size of the church and was replaced by a two manual electro-pneumatic pipe organ by the members of the St. Margaret 's Society and used for the first time at the midnight Christmas service in 1930.

Memorials

The church has many beautiful and functional memorials, to mention a few. The credence table with a hand-carved statue of the Christ in benediction is in loving memory of the Right Reverend Mahlon N. Gilbert. The altar is a memorial to the Reverend Herbert Root who served the church from 1879-1881. The baptismal font is in memory of Martha Tanner. Pews and kneeling cushions in memorial of Gordon Rosenmeier and, of course, our outstanding stained glass windows. Our windows by time and composition are modern and historical, both types are exceptional.

The Windows
Note: Clicking on any window enlarges for detail. Use the back button on your browser to return to this page.

Our four modern windows are primarily of geometric designs, using contrasting colors; they are eye catching and beautiful and are all memorial windows. The first window on your right front, is the 3M window (Massy, Molde and Martin), next the Rosenmeier window, on your left (the far east window) is the Kiewel window and the Brown and Warner window which differs from the others which has three pictorial scenes. St. Peter speaking to the other eleven disciples; Christ appearing after his resurrection instructing his disciples to go forth and spread the Gospel; and the third window is Bishop Whipple blessing the Indians.

The historical windows are truly unique, hand-made by craftsmen-artists each requiring two different stained glass procedures. The pot glass method, used to obtain the flowing changing colors in the geometric panels is obtained by mixing metal oxides into glass when in a liquid state, pouring and rolling the glass as it cools, and then cutting the panels into the size needed. Metallic oxides used for color were: cobalt for blue, chromium for green, nickel for purple, and carbon or sulphur for amber.

The second method used for our windows was painted glass, a vitreous liquid of finely ground glass is mixed with enamel pigment and solvent was painted on a glass surface, fired in a kiln, where it fused and became one sheet of stained glass. Our historical stained glass windows date back to construction of the church.

The Stillwater-Thomas window located behind the organ is a memorial window. The cameo painting pictures an angel announcing the first Easter.

The window to your front left, the choir window, a gift from the choir, portrays Christ in his ministry.

The last window with a cameo painting is the Traveling man window depicting the parable of the Good Samaritan, a gift from the salesmen who traveled by train before the age of automobiles and often spent the weekend in Little Falls and came to church on Sunday.

These painted cameos are excellent examples of the art but not of the quality of the masterpiece window at the back of the church that catches the morning light, and dominates the church.

This remarkable window is a memorial to the memory of a fourteen-year-old girl, Martha Washington Tanner, who died in 1900.This window depicting Christ with the children is comparable to Tiffany stained glass. Records do not tell us who the master artist was, experts who have studied the window think it could have come from the studio of Brown, Jones, and Morris of England or accomplished by a German Master. Regardless, it is an outstanding work of art containing detail seldom found in stained glass windows.

Our Heritage

Sometimes on Sunday morning when I'm sitting here waiting for the service to begin my mind wanders and I think of all the stalwart Episcopalians who proceeded us, that kept the faith and left us as heirs, to this beautiful and serene house of worship and I thank them.

Written by Bill Cheeseman, 1 October 1995,

online update 26 October, 2001

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