Swedish Evangelical Mission Church
320 4th St. N.
“The Akron Plan”
The Swedish Mission Church in Stillwater, Minnesota, was founded on September 20, 1881, when a small group of Swedish laborers gathered to encourage one another in the Christian faith and to study the Word of God together. For the first two years they met in the homes of their members, including Emil Nelson at 519 W. Laurel Street. In 1882, they erected their first church building at 807 North Fourth Street. Their first pastor was called in 1884, and in 1892 the church became part of the Evangelical Covenant Church of America.
The congregation outgrew that first church, and plans began for a new building. According to the 1904-05 Stillwater City Directory, the Swedish Mission Church congregation consisted of 60 members. On July 15, 1903, they purchased Lots 2 and 3, Block 14, Original City, (the site of the first St. Michael’s Church) for $600 from St. Michael’s parish which had by now built a new church on the South Hill.
On April 29, 1904, the Swedish Mission Church applied for a building permit at 320 North Fourth Street. According to the permit, the building was to be 50 feet wide in the front, and 46 feet wide in the back. The depth was to be 68 feet. The height from ground to the highest point on the building was to be 65 feet. The cellar of the building was to be 16 by 20 feet, 8 feet deep.
The floor in the auditorium was to be slanted, while the floor in the back room was to be level. The ceilings were to be curved roundish. There was to be a gallery in the one-story building and the outside was brick veneer. The cost of the building was estimated at $8,000. The architect was listed as K. E. Peterson, the pastor of the church.
On July 17, 1904, the cornerstone of the new church building was placed. According to one history, most of the work had been done by members and friends of the church. In addition to providing many cups of coffee and delicious food for the workers, the women raised the funds to purchase the beautiful stained glass windows.
According to a contemporary newspaper account, the pastor, Rev. K. E. Peterson prepared the plans and design of the church. Gustav Larson, a stone work contractor, who lived at 518 W. St. Croix, was the chairman of the building committee. The contents inside the cornerstone are listed in that same newspaper article.
The interior of this old church building has several elements of the "Akron Plan;" an unusual design common to a number of churches built between 1870 and 1915. Modeled after the opera houses of the day, these elements include an amphitheatre style, with curved pews, aisles that radiate from the pulpit, and a floor that slants toward the front.
In 1974, the congregation, now entitled the Bethany Evangelical Covenant Church, moved to a new church building at 6490 N. Stillwater Boulevard on the west side of Stillwater. Eight years later, Stillwater residents Thomas and Karen Loome purchased the old church at 320 North Fourth Street and created the headquarters for what has become the largest theological book business in the United States.
This church building is one of several examples of the adaptive re-use of church buildings in Stillwater.
— Research by Donald Empson, Empson Archives for the City of Stillwater's Heirlooms Home and Landmark Sites Program