Historical Church

With a towering steeple to mark a place of worship on the Iowa prairie, Trinity Lutheran Church was typical of the rural churches built more than a century ago. Originally located nine miles southeast of Manning in Lincoln Township, Trinity served the rural area for nearly 125 years.

The Trinity Congregation organized in 1881 when a predominant movement of immigrants came to Iowa from northern Germany, settling in the area surrounding Manning. Lutherans in Lincoln Township began conducting services in a school house.

They constructed and dedicated their first church in 1884. The church was quickly outgrown and rebuilt in 1901. This building served the congregation until the church and its contents were destroyed by a tornado in March 1913.

The faithful congregation immediately reconstructed their church to minimize any disruption of their worship. The church was built in six months and dedicated in October 1913. That beautiful structure still stands tall today.

Records indicate that Trinity was the church home, at one time, for more than 250 members. Through the years hundreds of baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals were performed inside the facility.

Economic hardship of the family farm and decline of the rural population caused the congregation of Trinity Lutheran to dwindle, and members realized they could not continue. In 2004, the congregation decided it would close the church after marking its 125th anniversary in 2006.