Country Churches

Enjoy peace and serenity at these beautiful and historic country churches on the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway.

European settlers arrived in western Iowa's Loess Hills in the mid-1800s. In Monona County, so many Danish immigrants settled near the town of Moorhead that the area became known as Dane Hollow. The Ingemann Danish Lutheran Church is part of their heritage.

While many country churches no longer offer regular services, you can still visit them to enjoy the idyllic location and serene peace of the Loess Hills countryside.

Check out the list below, then plan your fishing road trip on the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway using the Explore the Byway page.

Ingemann Danish Lutheran Church

Photo: Ken West

The Ingemann Danish Lutheran Church cornerstone was laid in 1884. The foyer and bell tower were added in 1903. Ingemann's pews, built of hand-hewn oak with nearly straight backs and narrow seats, are very sturdy but not built for comfort.

The church is located west of Moorhead in Monona County in an area that once had a high enough concentration of Danish immigrants that it was referred to as "Dane Hollow." Today, the church only holds services on Memorial Day, reunions, and a few weddings.

Text from Golden Hills RC&D and Iowa Road Trip.

Waubonsie Church

Photo: Lance Brisbois

The Waubonsie Methodist Church was the first religious organization in Mills County. The history of the Waubonsie church naturally divides itself into four periods as follows: Log cabin, log school house, old church and present church.

The present church was erected in 1886, near where the old church stood. The architect and builder was Amos Dean. The church closed for several years in the early 1970's. It was re-stored and re-opened in 1975 through donations. When it re-opened it was named Waubonsie Bible Church.

Text by Deb Smith

Soldier Lutheran Country Church

Photo: Seth Brooks

Soldier Lutheran Church throughout the years has been a staple of the Soldier community. When first officially organized, it was known as the Norwegian Lutheran Congregation of Soldier. Formed by early pioneers to the area, the birthday of the congregation is thought to be April 28, 1870, when the first pastor, Rev. Ellef Olson, arrived.

Prior to the first church structure being built, the congregation originally met in schools, dugouts, log cabins and barns. Construction on the first structure of Soldier Lutheran began in 1882. A fire, caused by lightning, destroyed this building in 1903. Pastor G.H. Bakke, who was residing in the nearby parsonage, ran into the building and saved the painting above the altar, the cross, and candlesticks. These items are still used today in the South Church. Construction of the South Church was completed in 1904.

Text from Soldier Lutheran Church.

Salem Lutheran Church at Plumer Settlement

Photo: Michael Plumer

The area of Oak Township in Mills County that eventually became known as the “Plumer Settlement” was first settled by Johann Heinrich Plumer in 1851.

In 1851, several German pioneer families migrated from near California, Missouri to Southwestern Iowa, settling in Oak Township, located in Mills County. The leader among these pioneers was Johann Heinrich Plumer.

These pioneer families, and those who later followed, built “The Salem German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession in Plumer's Settlement in Mills and Pottawattamie County, Iowa”, aka “Salem Lutheran Church”, in 1867.

Text from Plumersettlement.org