The history of St. Paul's congregation takes us back into the old country. Our ancestors once lived in Germany. Fredrick William III, King of Prussia, was the ruler at the time. In 1842 they left Germany to seek religious freedom and an opportunity to earn a better living. After many weeks at sea they landed in New York. The Germans then headed west and located near Ixonia, Wisconsin. There a congregation was established in July 1849 under the leadership of Rev. J.M. Heckendorf. This was also known as St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and still exists today.

In 1865, the congregation sent three men to Nebraska to check out the good land they had heard about. The report which the men brought back to Ixonia was so pleasing that in May 1866 a number of families left for the territory of Nebraska. Forty-two ox drawn wagons, families consisting of about 125 people slowly made their way west, traveling a total of 612 miles. On July 12, 1866 the journey came to and end when the entire company joined in prayer on the banks of the river.

Upon arriving at the North Fork of the Elkorn River the colonists then arranged themselves on either side of the river. The land was laid out in 160 acre sections on both sides of the river. The sections were four times as long as they were wide., endwise to the river, so that each man’s stock could have easy access to water. The plots were then divided among the settlers according to lot after the fashion by which the Jews in the old Testament times divided out the promise land. The head of each family was blindfolded and drew lots out of a hat, the 160 acres corresponding in number to the slip of paper drawn became his land to homestead.

In the fall of 1867 a church and school building were erected. It was in this building that Pastor Heckendorf opened and taught the first school in Madison County. In 1876 the first parsonage was built. The new parsonage was built in 1911, and is now being used as a teacherage. A new fram church was built in 1878 but was later moved and remodeled in 1910 and used as a school building. In 1907 the corner stone was laid into the 13th century Gothic style church which we still use today. In 1996 the west addition of the church was built, thus offering ample space for fellowship.