AMHERST JUNCTION, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – A Portage County church is celebrating after receiving historical status.
The South New Hope Church in Amherst Junction has been accepted into the state and national historic registry.
The church was built in 1889 and is a symbol of the Norwegian American community.
“This is a symbol of the Norwegian community that helped found this area,” Communication Coordinator, South New Hope Church Marshel Lysne said. “We try to maintain it as such so that generations coming up have some idea what this looks like.”
The church group started looking towards historical status in 2017 and was finally awarded the distinction in 2019. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they were not able to have a formal event till Sunday.
The building stopped operating as a church in 1966, but Lysne said they hope to incorporate the building into the community as a center for programming and even a wedding venue.
