Among the Swedish immigrants who settled in Decker in the 1880s were many seeking freedom from the Swedish state church. The immigrants held meetings in homes and schoolhouses, and organized the Decker Swedish Evangelical Free Church. Joseph E. Johnson and his wife Charlotta (Mork) deeded land in 1892 on which a church building was erected and this cemetery was established. Charles Smith served as first pastor of the church. As the congregation grew, a Sunday School and ladies society were added, and a parsonage built. Services were conducted in Swedish. Drought and crop failure forced many members to leave the area and the churches in Decker and Elroy disbanded. The church building located here was later torn down. In 1923 the Swedish Evangelical Free Church was formed in Austin; it was renamed the First Evangelical Free Church of Austin in 1952. The first recorded burial in the cemetery was that of Carl Oscar Swening in 1891. Many of the charter members of the church and their descendants are among those buried here. The church retains ownership of the site and maintains the cemetery, which continues to serve the area. (1997)
This page last updated: 7/15/2008 |
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