Located seven miles west, and three miles north of Lincoln, the small village of Denmark was settled along the banks of Spillman Creek by Danish immigrants. The first settlers arrived in 1869, and nearly all of them lost their lives in an Indian raid in May of that year. Many Denmark area residents are descendants of those early settlers, four and five generations later.
For more than a century, Denmark Lutherans have clung to their faith and to the enduring rock of their tiny, sturdy church built atop the rise at Denmark, Kansas in 1878. The beautifully simple church has withstood the test of time, services being held there even today. The bell tower and south entry were added in 1901. The Lutheran cross, carved of native limestone, first stood on the roof over the doorway. In 1901 when the tower and entry were added, the heavy cross was removed. It now stands to the east of the church on a memorial to the early pioneers who built the church.
The centennial brochure tells that the decision to build the church was reached in the fall of 1875. The building was to measure 46-and-a-half feet x 26 feet, to be constructed of native stone with a shingle roof, on a site located on the summit of a “gentle rise of ground” located on the homestead of Lars P. Nielsen, who donated the ground. The deed was recorded May 3, 1880.
Stone quarrying was done in the community from the Niels Andersen farm, the sand from the farm owned by Clarence Lessor. The lumber came from Ellsworth, a distance of 35 miles. Later, the bell tower rock came from the land of Bob Nelson.
The community hall was built nearby in 1911, and is now home to many community activities including an annual pheasant hunter’s lunch.
The Denmark Dames is a ladies’ service organization that does much for the church and the county by making donations.
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