History

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Some of the earliest residents of the new settlement opened among the rocks and pines of Northern Minnesota by Frank Hibbing were hardy Swedish pioneers, many of them recent immigrants to this country. With them they brought the traditions of the Lutheran Church of their homeland. In the 1890s, services were held in private homes and, in later year, in the council room of the town hall.

In 1896, a lot was purchased on 2nd Avenue and Central Street in North Hibbing. Construction of a frame church was begun the following year, and November 30, 1900, the Svenska Evangeliska Lutherska Immanuel Church had its first congregational meeting. Swedish was the dominant language of the congregation and all services were held in Swedish until 1908.

In 1919, the church structure was sold to the Oliver Mining Company for $28,000 and plans for a new church in South Hibbing were started. The congregation authorized the borrowing of $25,000 to defray the cost of the new structure as an addition to the sum received from the sale of the old building.
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The cornerstone-laying ceremony for the present church, located at 2201 3rd Avenue East, was conducted on October 10, 1920, and construction was completed the following year. In 1935 the name was changed to First Lutheran Church.
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