 The following families were charter members of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church when it was organized on November 15, 1879. T. O. Midbo, Ole T. Midbo, Even T. Midbo, John Erstad, Edwin Erstad, Nils Bale, Mrs. Karl Bendiksdatter, Sven A. Huss, Tollef H. Noss, Thorsten T. Tufte, Ole Tollefson, Lars M. Solberg, O. T. Arneson, Mrs. T. Gulbro and Miss Inger Larsdatter Berge. A year later, another fifteen families were added to this congregation. Pastor Bjug Harstad helped the congregation organize and served them until 1881.
The first church building was located one mile north of Hatton near the St. John Cemetery. The congregation is five years older than the Hatton townsite. After the townsite of Hatton was established, the congregation built the present church building in Hatton, in 1893. The church north of town was then sold to the Stjordalen Congregation, and moved.
The Stjordalen Congregation conferred with the St. John Congregation for thirty-fours, from 1889 until 1923, when it left to confer with a church in Reynolds, North Dakota.
In 1903, Bethany Congregation, rural Hatton, decided to confer with St. John and Stjordalen to form a parish of three congregations. Reverend Peder R. Syrdal was the first Pastor to serve this parish. Stjordalen left, but St. John and Bethany continue today.
In 1911, the congregation decided to pay the salary of a missionary to China and continued this for many years.
Our Saviour's Lutheran Church of Hatton united with St. John's in 1923. This church was located two blocks east of St. John's and is no longer standing. Reverend A. Lein was Pastor at Our Saviour's at that time.
In November 1969, St. John Lutheran Church celebrated their 90th Anniversary. The present Pastor is Reverend Reuben B. Jacobson, Jr. who was installed August 20, 1972.
Eight sons of this congregation have been ordained into the ministry of the church. They are Henry Noss, Olaf O. Bjertness, Rolf A. Syrdal, Ernest N. Nelson, Cyrus L. Solberg, Leland G. Thompson, Ivan G. Wambheim, and E. Douglas Heskin.
The congregation, at present, has a membership of 753 baptized and 617 confirmed.
From: YESTERYEARS IN TRAILL, A History of Traill County, North Dakota, 1976. Contributed by Gerry Forde Mohn
St. John Cemetery
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