Gold Hill Lutheran Church (Butte, Mont.)

The first official records of this congregation date from 1910 when Gold Hill called its first pastor and became a member of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church in America. Prior to that time the congregation had no affiliation with a national church body and did not refer to itself as “Lutheran”. Articles of incorporation were not filed until 1921, though organization is generally considered to be in the fall of 1892 when the congregation purchased its first building.

Peder Pedersen, an immigrant from Norway, gathered the Norwegian-speaking community together to form the congregation. He lived in the basement of the church as he continued his other work as a shoemaker. Following Pedersen, Gold Hill was served by a succession of pastors, seven to eleven years, but the congregation was not large enough to support a full-time pastor.

In the 1950s the congregation lost its Norwegian identity and became self-supporting. In 1960 construction was completed on an education wing and fellowship hall.

Despite the fact that mining operations have ceased in Butte, Gold Hill remains a healthy, happy and productive congregation.

From the guide to the Gold Hill Lutheran Church, Butte, Montana, Records, 1892-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)