Emanuel United Church of Christ

Emanuel Church, Hales Corners
United Church of Christ
10627 West Forest Home Avenue
Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130
414.425.1515

Emanuel's Early History
The World Around Emanuel in 1888

The year of our Lord was 1888 A.D.
National Geographic magazine first went into publication.  University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (then the Milwaukee Normal School) completed and put in use its Science Hall.  To the east, St. Josaphat Basilica opened their doors to its Catholic followers. The frontier was gone.  Kaiser Wilheim became Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia.  Alfred Tennyson was King of British poetry.  Names like J.D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Teddy Roosevelt, John L. Sullivan and Buffalo Bill were familiar to everyone.  The national average wage was $450.00 in the United States and skyscrapers were beginning to appear in the east.
Chicago and Milwaukee were becoming strong industrial cities along with St. Louis and Omaha.  Thomas A. Edison invented "the talking machine" and Horlick introduced "malted milk".
Eastman invented the box camera and roll film and Lewis Waterman invented the fountain pen.  Booker T. Washington was building his all black college and Benjamin Harrison was President of these United States.

The expanded time period in which Harrison served were called the "Gilded Age."  The high taxes levied against the federal states to fund the Civil War were not reduced after Lee's surrender and for many years, politicians were deadlocked on the issue of rolling back the taxation.  Much of the surplus money which had accumulated all these years was finally returned to the States by the millions with the remainder being absorbed by the federal government.  Some was spent for building harbors, light houses, post offices, forts, etc.  The U.S. navy was refitted, and moved from twelfth to fifth in world power.

The Hales Corners of 1888

Hales Corners was a small village with a post office in Greenfield Township, the only one southwest of Milwaukee. It owed its existence in part to the crossroads upon which it had grown and prospered. The village shops had been built by first born Yankee stock of English and Irish descent, who had moved west to seek their way. They supplied the host of farmers who surrounded it with virtually everything they would need, but could not grow or make for themselves. The village grew along the Janesville Plank Toll Road. From Ryan Road on the south to Cold Spring Road to the north. Highway 100 did not exist. The present section of Highway 100 from Edgerton Avenue south to Janesville Road was only a foot path. Most of the area was farmland and marsh. Forest Home Avenue is the current name for the north end of Janesville Plank Toll Road. It was a half day trip from Hales Corners to Milwaukee shops and businesses, and another half day to return. Four legged animals and wagons accounted for all ground transportation in the area. Steam and electric power existed, but the auto did not arrive until after 1903.

The relationship and bonds between the people of Hales Corners and the surrounding community was strong and sure to be beneficial to both groups. Farmers and tradesmen who took their wares to the Milwaukee markets from further south and west, used the many hotels, restaurants and liveries in Hales Corners for overnight stopovers, both coming and going. The next day their journeys were resumed if the horses, mules or oxen had sufficient rest.

Emanuel of 1888

There was no Protestant church in the area.   Louis Kerler and Theodore Jungbluth, farmers in Greenfield Township, often spoke about the need of a church in which they could worship God in accordance with the way they were taught, that is to say, the ways of their forefathers who came from across the Atlantic Ocean to get away from wars, political and religious persecution or to kindle the burning desire for personal freedom.  They grasped at the opportunity to improve both quality of life and personal wealth in this new world.  Frequent discussions between the two men continued.  John Hommel also became interested in building a Protestant church.   The idea of a new church in the village of Hales Corners seemed ideal.  When approached, the leading citizens were overjoyed with the proposal and pledged their support.  They were already completing a building for their first school.  In February 1888 the first group meeting to further the church building project took place in Hales Corners School.  Emanuel's first church officers as elected were President, Phillip Jung; Secretary, Louis Kerler; and Treasurer, Adam Conrad.  In addition, the following board members were added, Otto Neussel and Christian Schmidt, Jacob Siegel and William Horn were also elected and added to the Building Committee.

The church founders began a land search in the area of the village where they wished to build (along the business district on the Janesville Plank Toll Road).  Jacob Siegel owned most of the road frontage land which held several buildings.  However, there was a parcel of land owned by William Cobb which lay immediately behind Siegel's property.  This 4.25 acre parcel included an easement along the south boundary line which provided access to the North Cape Road and was available for purchase.  A deal was struck, the land was purchased for $875.00 to be paid off in five years, so the deed was written.  A construction crew from Greenfield Township immediately began construction of the wood frame 30 by 60 foot church which would seat 100 people.  They completed the building before the year's end.

Thus began The German Evangelical Church, the first Protestant church in Hales Corners.  Since a large portion of the Hales Corners and southwest Milwaukee area was settled by families who spoke German, all church services and the church's school were conducted in German.  As was the custom, each Sunday service found women and children of the congregation worshiping in pews on the right side of the church auditorium while the men were seated on the left.

In 1889 the church brass bell was commissioned, cast in Holland, transported to Hales Corners and installed.   In 1893, the first Women's Guild was formed and in 1894, six more people joined the church.  The average Sunday attendance was 22.  On New Years Day 1895, the Church Council voted in favor of giving church women a right to vote on all church concerns (Susan B. Anthony, Louisa May Alcott and others were active in women s suffrage at this time).  Although in a rural environment, Emanuel clearly demonstrated their devotion to their religion and human rights as evident in their actions.
The year 1921 saw the end to male and female separation during worship services and now families could worship side-by-side.   The church also began to hold service in English every other Sunday.  Eventually, services in German were reduced to once a month and vanished altogether in 1936.

So began the rich historical and religious legacy of Emanuel Church Hales Corners.  Many changes and challenges were to face the congregation in the fast approaching years of World War II and beyond.   Amid these sweeping political, sociological, technological and ideological changes, the 1960's saw the construction of a new church and the church membership of the 1990's witnessed massive building renovation in addition to the installation and joy of a new state-of-the-art pipe organ.  But as they say, "That is another story."

The majority of above text is not mine and was written by some unknown soul in celebration of the 1988 Emanuel centennial as published in the 100th Anniversary congregational brochure. I appreciate the individual(s) the long hours of diligent labor in its creation and have reprinted it largely intact with only minor changes in formatting...the webmaster

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