historic name Kalevala Finnish Evangelical National Lutheran Church

Transcription

1 NPS Form (Oct. 1990) RECEIVED 22riO OMB No Registration Form NAT SEP-* i99e REGISTER OF HI UORICRA NATIONAL PARK SERVif'L CIS 12 This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If an item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NFS Form a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. 1. Name of Property historic name other names/site number Moose Lake Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church 2. Location street & number off Mn - Hwy. 73 city or town Kalevala Township Kettle River state Minnesota code MN county Carlton code D not for publication _ 0 vicinity _ zip code 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this 0 nomination D request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural anj professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property»meeta D doestiot nregt th4 National R< gister criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant a. (D continuation sheet for additional comments.) Signature lof certifyirtg-efficial/title I an R.^*Stewart DaTe( Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer State of Federal agency and bureau Minnesota Historical Society In my opinion, the property D meets D does not meet the National Register criteria. (D See continuation sheet for additional comments.) Signature of commenting official/title Date State or Federal agency and bureau 4. Certification A f^ignature bfwe Keep I herebyrcertify that the property is: 0 entered in the National Register. CD See continuation sheet. D determined eligible for the National Register D See continuation sheet. L~H determined not eligible for the National Register. D removed from the National Register. IH other, (explain:) Date of Action

2 National Name of Property Lutheran Church 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) S private D public-local D public-state D public-federal Category of Property (Check only one box) H building(s) D district D site D structure D object Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) N/A 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) Religion: Church Carlton County, MN County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the Contributing Noncontributing count.) buildings sites structures objects Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register 0 Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) Vacant 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) No Style Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation Concrete walls Wood roof other Steel Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.)

3 National Name of Property Lutheran Church 8. Statement of Significance Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) GS A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. Carlton County, MN County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) Ethnic Heritage / European Social History D B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. D C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. Period of Significance D D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: 3 A owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes. D B removed from its original location. D C a birthplace or grave. D D a cemetery. D E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. Significant Dates Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) Cultural Affiliation N/A D F a commemorative property. D G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Architect/Builder Kaipainen, Charles Kaipainen, Elias Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) 9. Major Bibliographical References Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): D preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested D previously listed in the National Register D previously determined eligible by the National Register D designated a National Historic Landmark D recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # D recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # Primary location of additional data: E State Historic Preservation Office D Other State agency D Federal agency Local government D University D Other Name of repository:

4 National Name of Property Lutheran Church 10. Geographical Data Carlton County, MN County and State Acreage of Property one acre UTM References (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet.) Zone I 5i 1 5i l 9, 0, Q Easting Northing Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 11. Form Prepared By I I D See continuation sheet Northing name/title David C. Anderson organization date June 1, 1998 street & number 169 Lundy Bridge Drive telephone (319) city or town Waukon Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: state Iowa Zjp COC e s Maps Photographs A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Representative black and white photographs of the property. Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of SHPO or FPO.) name First Apostolic Lutheran Church of Kettle River street & number P.O. Box 73 telephone (218) city or town Kettle River state m zip code Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement; Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division,, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC ; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects ( ), Washington, DC US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1993 O QL 3

5 _ Section number -, ' Page. 1 DESCRIPTION The is a 40 by 24 foot wood frame structure located four miles north of Kettle River on Mn. Hwy. 73 in Carlton County, Minnesota, which is directly southeast of Duluth and Lake Superior. The church is on an acre of land in an area of flat farmland which includes extensive wooded areas and many lakes, rivers and wetlands. Except for the metal roofing and some asbestos siding on the belfry and west wall, the building is in essentially original condition as built in There is a non-contributing ten-footsquare wood frame shed behind the church which functioned as a privy and storage facility. The Kalevala church is in the midst of a predominately Finnish-American rural community close to the locations of other properties that once served important social functions but are no longer extant. These include a public school dating from 1898 (Mansikka School), two post offices, and a general store; all on or near Hwy. 73, which has been an important transportation artery since the days of early settlement. Properties that remain, in addition to the church, arc the West Branch Cemetery, located VA miles north of the church, and the remnants of a social or "Workers" hall that now serves as a farm outbuilding. 1 The cemetery, established by the Kalevala church congregation in 1892, has been used by the Kalevala community as a whole for many years. The West Branch Cemetery is not included in this nomination. The present church was built in 1915 to replace an earlier one that was erected in 1900 by the same congregation and destroyed by fire in The current property is said to have been built on the same foundation as its predecessor, but it is very different in appearance in that the first church was a simpler structure, also of wood frame construction but with no belfry and pointed arch windows. 2 The church faces east and is set back about 75 feet from the highway. Above the main entrance rise a tower and belfry capped with a steep pyramidal roof with flared eaves. The original bell was removed and is now located in St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Moose Lake. Above the double doors leading into the church is a semi-circular wooden panel with the painted inscription: SUOMALAINEN-KIRKKO E.L.K Suomalainen-Kirkko means Finnish Church and letters stand for Evangelis Lutherilainen Kirkko, which means Evangelical Lutheran Church. The entrance/tower bay projects out from the main body of the church, and at the junction of tower and roof the gable ends project with returns; this treatment is repeated with boxed eaves on both ends of the church. Except for the tower and a shallow apse projection at the west end, the ground plan is a simple rectangle. The building rests on a concrete foundation and there is no basement. The roof surfaces throughout are covered with aluminum painted standing seam steel applied over the original wood shingles. Asbestos siding was placed on the church at an unknown date, but except for the belfry and west end wall, this has been removed to reveal the original white painted wood lap siding (clapboards) with corner boards.

6 NPS Form a OMB Approval No Section number Z Page t The fenestration consists of 16 1/1 double-hung sash in frames below round arch segments which are now boarded-in but originally contained three panes each of colored glass set in wood frames. 3 Just inside the entrance is a vestibule set off from the main interior space by a pair of swinging doors. Directly above these is an inscription painted on the wall: Elias & Chas. Kaipainen Raken Tajat 1915 The inscription identifies the builders and year of construction. 4 There is an opening in the vestibule ceiling which provides access to the tower, belfry and attic. The interior wall surfaces are clad in the original lath and plaster painted white above four feet high pine beaded board wainscoting. The central space and apse ceilings are semicircular, echoing the round arch windows. Tie rods with turnbuckles span the main space laterally north and south. At the west end there is a communion railing elevated two steps above the main floor; behind that is an altar platform in the apse, or sanctuary. To the south of the communion railing stands an octagonal pulpit. This is an elaborate structure which stands three to four feet above the floor, which is reached by a staircase on the back side. Although of wood construction, it is painted white, as is the communion railing which is sheathed in beaded board. The wainscoting plus the rest of the woodwork, including doors and windows, is pine finished with a medium stain and varnish. The flooring is four-inch heart pine throughout. The church contains the original seats, which are cast iron with walnut veneer wood seats and backs manufactured in rows of five units each. These were bolted to the floor, but after the 1918 fire and influenza epidemic the bolts were removed and the rows of seats set off to one side. They have since been repositioned on either side of a central aisle but not refastened to the floor. The bolt holes remain clearly visible. There is a back door positioned north of the apse and a brick chimney is hung on the north wall, but this does not extend through the roof. Aside from fluorescent rube lighting installed in the ceiling, the missing stained glass and bell, plus the metal roofing and asbestos siding, this property remains essentially as built and is in good condition except for the concrete foundation, which is in need of repair. The church has not been in use since the congregation was disbanded in 1966, and it remains vacant today.

7 NPS Form a OMB Approval No O018 Section number Z Page 2 Notes 'This description of the area near the Kalevala church is based on documentation in the Carlton Co. File (Kalevala Township), SHPO, and a visit to the vicinity in October, The first church is illustrated in Manni, p The tripartite division can be seen in a photo on p. 4 of Manni. The hues of these panes of glass have been variously described by local residents as blue, yellow, red and green. The location of the windows is at present unknown. Letter to the author from Pat Fanning, March 16, rdinarily "builders" is one word: Rakentqjat. Church records in the possession of Pat Fanning indicate that Elias Kaipainen was paid $ 1, in 1915 for building the church. Additional outlays at the time were $ to the Sears and Roebuck Company for seats. The only other expenses recorded which relate to the church building and furnishings for the years through 1918 date from 1917: organ freight and organ tuning for S6.30 and $1.00 respectively. Elias and Charles Kaipainen were brothers; at the present time they are not known to have been responsible for other buildings in the area.

8 NFS Form a OMB Approval No Section number & Page i. SIGNIFICANCE The Kalevala church is significant under National Register Criterion A in the area of ethnic heritage as representing the strong and enduring presence of Finnish-Americans in Carlton County, Minnesota. In some townships, including Kalevala, they made up between 75% and 100% of the population by 1905, and by 1930 they had become the largest immigrant group in the county. The Kalevala church is also significant in the area of social history for its association with two important events in the history of Carlton County, namely the Cloquet-Moose Lake Fire (1918) and the Influenza Epidemic of The property also relates to the Minnesota statewide context Northern Minnesota Lumbering, Os. Although the territory which included what was to become Carlton County in 1857 was well known to European fur traders since the 17 th century, it was only after the Ojibwe land cessions to the U.S. government via the Treaty of La Pointe in 1854 that this land became available for Euro-American settlement. In 1856 the Federal government funded the Point Douglas-St. Louis River Road. This military road was completed from the mouth of the St. Croix river on the Mississippi at Point Douglas, east of Ft. Snelling and St. Paul, to Lake Superior near what was to become Duluth-Superior. This road was intended to open the areas north of St. Paul to settlement and economic development. The military road went through Carlton County, and several communities developed on it to service the traffic. These settlements included Elkton, later called Moose Lake. More important than the military road, however, was the first railroad into this territory, the Lake Superior and Mississippi, which for the most part paralleled the military road and linked Duluth and St. Paul. Completed in 1870, this was reorganized in 1877 as the Duluth and St. Paul, and in 1900 it became part of the Northern Pacific system, which had by 1883 provided rail service westward from Duluth-Superior through Carlton County to the Red River Valley. Other railroads were extended through the county, but the Soo Line (Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie) was especially important in the history of Moose Lake, Kettle River, Kalevala Township, and western Carlton County generally. Between 1907 and 1910 this railroad built tracks from west central Minnesota to Superior, Wisconsin through Moose Lake; and a branch out of that city to Kettle River and beyond into Aitkin and Crow Wing counties was constructed in response to the recently discovered Cuyuna Range iron ore deposits. The settlement of Carlton County began in the 1870s, and while Scandinavian and Finnish immigrants were well represented among those who came to the area at that time, their numbers grew rapidly in proportion to other groups, especially after about While much of the land was not tillable, the primary motive in the minds of most immigrants was to obtain land and establish farms. 1 Carlton County was heavily timbered with pine, white cedar, and other marketable species which had not been harvested when settlement began, so logging and lumber milling developed together with farming as an attractive mix of enterprise because money could be earned from the first days of arrival by clearing the land in preparation for farming. Locally, logging and lumber milling remained important until the 1918 fire, but since railroads made large tracts of timber available to the north of the burned-

9 NFS Form a OMB Approval No B Section number Page 5 over areas, lumber milling and other wood processing has continued at Cloquet down to the present day, although wood products other than milled lumber now dominate the industry. Settlement proceeded out from the earliest communities which had grown up along the military road and first railroads. Finns were the largest group followed closely by Swedes and more distantly by Norwegians and Danes among the Scandinavians; many other European ethnic groups were represented as well. Swedes and Finns were both recruited in their native lands by railroad companies, in particular the Northern Pacific. Population growth in Carlton County rose rapidly only after 1880, when the numbers went from 1,230 to 5,272 in 1890, 10,017 in 1900, to 17,559 in 1910, and 19, 319 in 1920 after which little additional growth occurred.2 The movement of Finns into the county was such that by 1905 several townships had become 75% to 100% Finnish. This immigration was part of an influx of Finns into the northeastern region of Minnesota, with a large number also moving into St. Louis and Lake counties. Eventually this region became the largest Finnish settlement area in the state. Two earlier and smaller concentrations had formed in south-central Minnesota at Cokato in Wright County and around New York Mills in Otter Tail County. 3 In 1910 Finns represented 98% of the population of Kalevala Township and they remain the largest ethnic group there, which is reflected in the name itself, derived from their folk-epic the Kalevala, written in 1835 from ancient folk poems still being sung by Finnish peasants at the time. The Kalevala was intended to represent Finnish national identity and eventually came to serve this function among Finnish immigrants abroad as well. 4 Before the township had been created, however, numerous small communities with post offices, schools, stores and sawmills had begun to develop in the western part of the county, which was known as "Moose Lake country" because this was the earliest town in the area and the only one with a railroad connection until 1909, at which time the village of Kettle River (at first called "Finland") was established by the Soo Line railroad. Thus what later became the Kalevala Evangelical was organized in 1892 as the Moose Lake Evangelical Lutheran Church, with its first church building being erected at the current location in Until 1914 Kalevala Township included Automba Township, which lies directly west of it, and the first Kalevala post office was located in section 26 of what is now Automba. Among the indications of a flourishing community by 1900 in Kalevala and eastern Automba townships, which was focused along Hwy. 73, was the Mansikka public school, located less than one-half mile north of the church and one often rural schools in the Kalevala school district. The Kalevala Workers Lending Hall was located between the church and the West Branch cemetery, and a library was organized in In 1910 a social club for young people was set up to "encourage athletics, temperance, and dancing." A post office and general store was located at Salo, an unincorporated hamlet three miles north of the church. 5 While only one in four Finnish immigrants joined any church in the U.S., those who did were predominately Lutheran. Finnish-American Lutherans, over time, developed into three major groups. Initially there were the Apostolic (Laestadian) Lutherans and the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Suomi Synod), to which the Kalevala

10 NPSForm a OMB Approval No Section number 8 Page 6 church belonged until 1902 when it went over to the third group, the Finnish-American National Evangelical Lutheran Church which was formally organized in Most of the early Finnish Lutheran churches in Carlton County were Apostolic; when the Kalevala church congregation was dissolved in 1966, the property was purchased by an Apostolic group which still owns it. This body is no longer a religious organization and no Apostolic Lutheran services were ever held there. At present, the Finnish Apostolic Lutherans remain independent, while the Suomi Synod joined the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) - subsequently the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) - and the National Lutherans merged with the American Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, in In spite of the existence of other social institutions in the area, the Kalevala church served important social functions over the years. Ed Manni, in his book on the history of the Kalevala area, sums up the church's social function in this way: Strong wooden beams support protecting walls and a roof that viewed pioneer struggles against the harsh elements of rustic life. Leaner generations than we heard the walls echo, "Come unto me all ye that labor" and gathered there to receive rest for the body and strength for the soul. Pioneer life was difficult, but it had its brighter moments as life always does. This structure shared these moments with the pioneers also because it was the center of social life. It recorded all that made life worth living... birth, baptism, Christian education, the unification of a family, and the final rest. 7 One of the documented annual events held on the Kalevala church grounds was an annual Midsummer gathering, which has pre-christian origins and celebrates the summer solstice. The Midsummer festival has a long tradition in Finland and among other peoples living in or close to northern polar regions. 8 A single event in 1932 can serve to demonstrate that a wide community regarded the Kalevala church as significant in its history. This was an "Old Settlers' Picnic," reportedly attended by some 800 people, among whom were the Finnish Consul and Congressman William Pittenger. 9 As with many non-english-speaking immigrants, their churches played an important part in keeping the native language and ethnic heritage alive for Finnish-Americans. 10 This was perhaps a less vital function in homogeneous communities like Kalevala Township and its neighboring area, where indications are that spoken Finnish remained common well into the 1960s. The Kalevala congregation remained quite stable between 1914 and 1946, when Finnish was still used by operators on the local telephone exchange, to the irritation of the few who were not fluent." Finnish was spoken in the Kalevala church until it closed in 1966, and it has been suggested that the congregation's decline, which began at some point after 1946, coincided with a waning interest in the language. Many younger members left Kalevala for other churches, complaining that "the Finnish language service (was) outdated and boring." 12

11 NPS Form a OMB Approval No Section number Page Z Other Finnish Lutheran churches were built in Kalevala Township and in neighboring areas, but these buildings either no longer exist or lack historic integrity, and this is also the case with the other properties which once served the social and cultural needs of the Kalevala community, with the exception of the West Branch Cemetery. In architectural terms, the current church, with its bell tower, colored glass windows, and cornice returns, is a somewhat more elaborate structure than its predecessor. It also differs from the first church in the use of round arch windows, and in this respect it departs from other rural Finnish Lutheran churches in Minnesota. 13 Two scholars have suggested that the raised pulpit is an almost "universal feature" of immigrant Finnish Lutheran churches, but that "very little" in the way of features from the home church is to be found in them, even though what these features might be is not specified. 14 While the question of what might be Finnish about this property remains unclear, the inscriptions over the entrance doorways leave no doubt that this building was put up by and for Finnish-Americans. The Kalevala church is also significant for its association with two events that had a major impact on most of Carlton County and beyond: the Cloquet-Moose Lake fire of 1918 and the influenza pandemic of The Cloquet-Moose Lake fire was in reality a series of forest fires that swept through most of Carlton County north and west of present-day U.S. Hwy. 35 and portions of six other counties. In one day, October 12, 1918, a series of low grade fires in many different locations flared up and burned over an area of 1,500 square miles, killing 453 people and badly burning 85 more with a subsequent loss of life from injuries, influenza, and pneumonia. 36 towns and villages including Cloquet, Moose Lake, and Kettle River were either totally or partially destroyed, and a total of $30 million in property loss has been estimated.' 5 The segment that totally destroyed Cloquet was the largest in area, and it extended into St. Louis County to the Woodland neighborhood of Duluth. This was followed in size by the Moose Lake-Kettle River portion, which extended about seven miles on both sides of the Soo Line railroad for 31 miles from Moose Lake westward. This area includes Kalevala and five other townships in western Carlton plus eastern and southeastern Aitkin counties. The Moose Lake-Kettle River fire was responsible for at least one-half of all fatalities claimed by all the fires referred to in combination as the Cloquet-Moose Lake fire. It was well known at the time that sparks from locomotives on the Soo Line and Northern Pacific railroads were mainly responsible for these fires, which in some instances had been burning for days, or even months, in swampy areas where peat bogs provided fuel. The other major factors were the large amount of fuel in the form of standing timber and slash - small pieces of tree trunks, their discarded limbs, etc. - and a long spell of dry weather. 16 The fire entered Kalevala Township late in the afternoon on October 12 from the north and west and swept across Hwy. 73 toward Kettle River and Moose Lake, As it approached the location of the church and the Arnold Reed farm just to the north, it split in two and spared the church, the Reed farm, the Mansikka school, and a few other nearby structures. Published accounts of survivors from the Kalevala vicinity relate how the people attempted to stave off disaster and, finally, just stay alive. 17 One story, which turns up in more than one account, concerns the

12 NPSForm a Section number 8 Page 8 OMB Approval No O01B Kalevala church's first pastor, Erich Westerback. A news reporter who had sought protection from the fire at the Westerback home was forced to flee with the Westerback family to the nearby West Branch river where he witnessed "this white bearded patriarch, kneeling on the banks of the river with tongues of fire leaping about, praying to the lord to have mercy on them since they had sinned and merited his wrath."' 8 Another account, by a grandniece of Pastor Westerback (Mrs. Waino Siltanen) tells of how several family members left the Westerback farm and went to the river where they spent the night. Upon returning to their farm the next morning, they found everything destroyed and were taken to the Newman farm. "Later the Red Cross came with food and clothes and some of the families went to the church nearby and the Mansikka school." 19 From Kalevala, the fire moved on to Kettle River, from which people then attempted to escape by car and on foot to Moose Lake. The dense smoke, confusion, overloaded automobiles, and primitive nature of the road at the time resulted in from 75 to 100 people dying at a place known as "Dead Man's Curve." This is two and one-half miles south of Kettle River where the road takes an abrupt right angle turn toward Moose Lake. The cars went off the road, turned over, and collided, creating a traffic jam of deadly proportions, although a few people survived in the nearby waters of Glaisby (or Gillespie) Brook. 20 In Carlton County the flu epidemic had arrived later in September just before the fires, after having broken out earlier in the Twin Cities. What became known variously as the Spanish Influenza, the Great Flu Epidemic of 1918, and other names was one of the most devastating outbreaks of a communicable disease in history, claiming the lives of some 21 million people worldwide between 1918 and The virulence of the disease was intensified locally by the stressful effects of the fires, and it spread rapidly in the crowded conditions prevailing in the shelters. Following the fires, a spell of cold, wet weather set in which further exacerbated the health crisis. 22 Since the Kalevala church was one of the few buildings of any kind to survive the fire, it served as a shelter for some of the many people left homeless who then had to face adverse weather and the outbreak of influenza. One account relates how for "days and weeks afterwards even the pulpit was filled with fire sufferers, and it was used later as a base of operations by the Red Cross and National Guard. During the flu epidemic which followed the fire, many sick and dying took refuge there - in fact many did not survive and died while sheltered there." 23 Oral histories gathered by Pat Fanning from people still living in the area who remember these events all tell the same story, and the church's function as a shelter is evidenced in the building itself, since the banks of seats which were unbolted and set off to the sides at this time were never refastened to the floor. A story that is still being told in the Kalevala community is about a young man named Axel Pietila, who is remembered as lying deathly ill with influenza, with his head on the foot rail of the altar. Thought to be a certain casualty, he later recovered. 24 While Cloquet, Moose Lake and Kettle River were rebuilt after the fires, and the wood processing industry continues to be important in Carlton County, the devastated rural areas were changed dramatically, and, in many areas, permanently. The small, rural sawmills were swept away along with the remaining local timber resources. Consequently there was an upsurge in farming wherever it was suitable in these areas, and even a slight increase in population between 1920 and 1930 in the county as a whole. Several small villages and hamlets such as Salo and

13 NFS Form a OMB Approval No Section number page 9 Automba were not rebuilt, although the rural population remained fairly stable until about 1950, at which time a decline was registered which continues in most locations. 25 The Kalevala church records break off in September, 1918 and are not available for any subsequent period. The history (1949) states that in 1946 the congregation totaled 33 members, which suggests that the membership remained fairly stable between 1918 and 1946, since in 1918 it numbered about The Kalevala church was closed in 1966 after the congregation split, with the original National Evangelicals dissolving themselves and transferring the property to the First Apostolic Lutheran Church of Kettle River. 27 The building has been vacant since then, but it still stands as a lonely reminder of the large Finnish-American population that once resided in the vicinity and the dramatic events of 1918 that had a lasting impact on local history. Notes 'Carroll, pp See also Rikkinen. The best land for farming in Kalevala was in the western half of the township. 2ibid., pp. 169, ; Riippa, p Carroll, pp ; Riippa, pp. 296, Wargelin-Brown, pp. 5, 10, 52. Population figures are from the 13 th U.S. Census (1910). 5The quotation is from Carroll, p Also refer to the SHPO File, Carlton County (Kalevala Township). 6Riippa, p. 306; Evangelis-Luterilainen Kansaliskirkko (hereinafter referred to as the history), p Manni, p SHPO File, Kalevala Township. 9Manni, p. 37. This event is also recorded in Carroll, p Riippa, p "Wasastjerna, pp Church records suggest a congregation of about 30 in the years , and the history lists 33 members in 1946 (p. 337). 12Letter from Pat Fanning to Susan Roth (May 12, 1997) in SHPO file. See also Riippa's comments on the use of the Finnish language in the churches (p. 307).

14 NPSForm a OMB Approval No Section number Page i2 l3as documented in SHPO files for Aitkin, Carlton, Douglas, Renville, St. Louis, and Wright counties. l4stow and Laitala, p The raised pulpit is also typical for immigrant Scandinavian Lutheran churches throughout the Midwest. l3the most complete account of this disaster is the book by Carroll and Raiter. A detailed account of the fire and its aftermath in Kalevala Township and the surrounding area can be found in Chapter Five. 16Carroll and Raiter, pp. 6, Accounts gathered by Edwin Manni are included in his book; others were published in the Feb. 24, 1964 edition of the Carlton County Vidette, and in the "50 th Anniversary Special Fire Edition" of the Moose Lake Star-Gazette (October 10, 1968). Also see Carroll and Raiter, p Manni, pp In the Vidette of Feb. 24, 1964 and as related in Carroll and Raiter (p. 85), Pastor Westerback prayed for their destruction because all of them were sinners. I9"J. Westerback Family and the Fire of 1918," printed in the Moose Lake Star-Gazette "Fire Edition." The Nick Koivisto account in this publication also concerns the Kalevala vicinity. 20Carroll and Raiter, pp. 75, 'See Crosby, and Hoehling. 22The effects of the epidemic in conjunction with the forest fires is discussed in Crosby, pp , and in Hoehling, pp No figures for Carlton County are given, but 2,123 deaths from influenza were recorded in Minneapolis-St. Paul alone. 2jThe quotation is from Manni, p. 37, and the same account is in Carroll (pp ) and Carroll and Raiter, p Pat Fanning in correspondence with the author of this nomination (March 16, 1998), in the SHPO file. 25 Carroll, p. 264, with population charts on pp ; Rikkinen, fig SeeNote#ll. 2 'The First Apostolic Lutheran Church of Kettle River is still the nominal owner of record but it is no longer a religious organization. The current status of the church is outlined in an article by Pat Fanning in "Suomalainen Kirkko (Finnish Church) The Coming Together of a Community'" (Arrowhead Leader, October 10, 1995).

15 NPS Form a OMB Approval No Section number - Page i! BIBLIOGRAPHY Carlton County Vidette. 75th Anniversary Edition, February 24, Carroll, Francis M. Crossroads in Time: A History of Carlton County, Minnesota. Cloquet, and F. M. Raiter. The Fires of Autumn: The Cloquet-Moose Lake Disaster of St. Paul, Crosby, Alfred W. America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of New York, Evangelis-Luterilainen Kansaliskirkko. Marquette (MI), This is a history of the Finnish Evangelical. Fanning, Pat. Multiple correspondence with the author between September 20, 1996 and March 16, On file at the SHPO, St. Paul. Hoehling, A. A. The Great Epidemic. Boston, Manni, Edwin E. Kettle River, Automba, Kalevala, and Surrounding Area History, n.p., Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office. Architecture/History Files. Carlton County. Moose Lake Star-Gazette. "50th Anniversary Special Fire Edition," October 10, Riippa, Timo. "The Finns and Swede-Finns" (in) June Holmquist (ed.) They Chose Minnesota: A Survey of the State's Ethnic Groups. St. Paul, Rikkinen, Kalevi. "Kalevala, Minnesota: Agricultural Geography In Transition." Acta Geographica 19, No. 5 (1969). Stow, Gordon H. and E. M. Laitala. "Some Observations on Finnish-American Church Buildings and their Relationship to Finnish Church Architecture" (in) Ralph J. Jalkanen, The Faith of the Finns, n.p., Wargelin-Brown, Marianne. "The Kalevala As Western Culture in Finland and America." Finnish Americana, Volume 7 (1986), pp. 4-12, 52. Wasastjerna, Hans R. (ed.). History of the Finns in Minnesota. Duluth, 1957.

16 NPS Form a OMB Approval No Section number 12 Page 12 VERF3AL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION The Kalevala church is on a one-acre parcel described as follows: Starting at a point on the east line of Section 30, Township 47 North, Range 20 West, 44 Rods (726 feet) north of the southeast corner of said section running thence west 208 2/3 feet, thence north 208 2/3 feet, thence east 208 2/3 feet, thence south 208 2/3 feet to the place of beginning. BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATION The nominated property includes the entire parcel historically associated with the church.