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German Lutheran Church of Middleton (First Lutheran Church)

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1866; 1885 enlarged and remodeled. 4022 Pleasant View Rd.
  • (Photograph by Jeff Dean, courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society)

German immigrants, attracted by the area’s fertile soil, began arriving in the Middleton area in 1846 and soon became the dominant ethnic group. This handsome church, with its adjacent cemetery, is the only remaining public building in Middleton that is associated with its German heritage. By 1866, the original log church could no longer accommodate the growing congregation, so the members arranged for the construction of a frame Greek Revival church. Nineteen years later the congregation enlarged the building, and the builder redesigned much of the church’s exterior in a simple yet striking interpretation of Gothic Revival. He incorporated pointed-arched windows, along with a steeple embellished by a pointed-arched belfry, curved Gothic tracery, a bracketed cornice, and an octagonal spire. Inside, lancet arches and gilded pinnacles on the altar and the organ pipe screen continue the Gothic theme.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Marsha Weisiger et al.
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Data

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Citation

Marsha Weisiger et al., "German Lutheran Church of Middleton (First Lutheran Church)", [Middleton, Wisconsin], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WI-01-DA12.

Print Source

Buildings of Wisconsin

Buildings of Wisconsin, Marsha Weisiger and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2017, 433-433.

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