October 30, 1857 at 2:00 pm - The men members of the Salem’s Congregation of the Evangelical Association met at an Assembly Hall to discuss congregational matters. This was likely the first annual meeting of the men members of the congregation. Women and adolescents were not invited to this meeting, which established a trend for subsequent meetings. Those in attendance were Brother August Hulster, Brother Fred Zehnder and Andrew Tarnutzer, the first minister of Salem EV.
January 22, 1867 - The first trustee selection was held, and the church was named “Salem’s Kirche.” The first trustees included Michael Gackstetter, Georg Glassing and Heinrich Schafer. Andrew Strohmeier was the first preacher.
July 6, 1867 - The Trustee Book was presented by Andrew Strohmeier to Brother Michael Gackstetter, the first Trustee of Church Property, described as “Salem’s Kirche of the Evangelical Association, Dakota County, Minnesota State, North America.” The first nine pages include trustee meeting data from 1867-1870.
The Church Building
The first church building was erected on land donated by the Blasé family in 1867 and by 1869, the congregation was eager to build another church to accommodate future growth.
November 18, 1869 - The congregation of approximately eleven families was roughly split between choosing a new site or one near the existing site.
April 9, 1870 - Michael Gackstetter presented a bill for approximately $45, which is believed to be the purchase price of the new church site on his farmstead. Each family was to be assessed $4.50 so that Michael could be paid by November 1, 1970. This transaction was not successful since the congregation would later choose a site near the existing site.
February 1, 1875 - A three-man committee was selected to secure a site to build the church. The church building was to be 20’x32’ and was completed August 1, 1876. Member pledges ranged from $1 - $10 with a total of $740.32 raised, of which $670 covered the cost of church, with $70.38 left over for a window shutter.
October 27, 1879 – Fire insurance should be secured on the church valued at $600.
October 1, 1880 - The old church should be sold, and Rev. Herman Bunse bought it for $5 in cash.
Rules of the Church
April 8, 1871 - The Rules were established for the Salem Congregation. Everyone shall take a seat and keep it from the beginning until the end of the meeting. No one is allowed to withdraw without permission from the chairman. Anyone wishing to speak shall stand and honorably address the chair and speak no longer than five minutes at a time and not more than three times over one objection. No one shall be interrupted in his speech until he has finished.
Old Salem Cemetery – “God’s Acre”
December 11, 1876 - George Glassing should write a card of the place of the burials and owners of lots on the cemetery and numbers of lots not yet sold.
October 28, 1878 - Trustees to “see to it that God’s Acre (cemetery) be used to plant tomatoes.”
October 27, 1879 - Each plot on the cemetery should cost $7 and a single grave should sell for $1.
October 25, 1881 - Trustees to plot the cemetery and quarterly collections should be taken during the year for the upkeep of the church.
October 6, 1883 -Trustees have the right to get the church painted and members build a fence around the cemetery. Each one shall bring six fence posts for the fence.
September 7, 1887 - God’s Acre should be surveyed, the north end should be laid out in family lots, the hill on God’s Acre be cut down, single graves be sold until family lots were laid out, and family lots be raised in price from $5 to $10.
February 26, 1888 – Single graves should be raised in price from $1 to $2, wire fencing should be used for the fence along the swamp.
September 7, 1889 - Lawyer advised the trustees that they should have a regular deed for cemetery lots and should have one hundred handbills printed at $7.50. Each lot owner should get regular deed for it. Decided that “whoever wants a lot in our cemetery or a burial place in our cemetery shall pay for it in full before he can bury his dead.”
January 8, 1910 - Last entry in the chronicle. “It was suggested that the work of serving the church should be done the same way as the former year. It was accepted.”