The History of St. Paul’s

Since 1892, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church has been part of the faith community of Kenosha. As the church membership has grown, we have worked to provide facilities for worship services and the Christian education needs of our family.

On June 2nd of 1892, the first Swedish church in Kenosha, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was established at the home of Mr. and Mrs. August Strangberg located at 129 Third Avenue (now known as 5432 16th Avenue). The church was built by Mr. Gustofson and was dedicated on November 27, 1898. In 1909, the building was literally lifted up to build a basement and new heating was installed. Sunday School rooms were provided through this building project.

In 1918, two lots were purchased on the corner of 26th Avenue and Roosevelt Road for $3,600. On October 28, 1923 the church and parsonage were completed and Pastor Johnson held the first service. There was a dedication of a church renovation in 1953, which included new classrooms, kitchen remodeling, and the addition of a Wicks organ.

Groundbreaking took place for our present church, located at the corner of 39th Avenue and 88th Street, in 1970. On February 13, 1972 we had our church dedication ceremony and in June of 2002, our faith community celebrated 110 years of ministry.

Recognizing the need to update the worship space, the congregation voted to remodel the existing sanctuary and narthex area and this work was completed in 2004.

We have been served by a number of dedicated clergy members over the last 115+ years. Our current pastor is Pastor Linda Hanus. She has been with us since October 2010.