The First Church in Chadron

Harmon Bross came in on the first train into Chadron in August 1885, he wrote, to begin permanent work. He had been pastor at Crete for more than ten years, where the church grew from 14 members to 185, before the Congregational churches made him general missionary for northern Nebraska in February 1884. In the spring of 1885 he scouted Gordon, Rushville, Hay Springs and Chadron, then made Chadron his headquarters with a gospel tabernacle for church and Sunday school. He organized the Northwestern Association here in 1887 and became state superintendent in December 1889.

What the plaque says

The First Church in Chadron Shortly after the townsite of Chadron was selected on August 1, 1885, the Reverend Harmon Bross, a Congregational missionary, conducted the first worship service in the fledgling community. For a time services were held in the open air or in tents. On August 23, 1885, it was decided to organize a Congregational Church. Chadron's first church was built on this site in the fall of 1885. The total cost of the building and lot was $1775. The Congregational Church of Chadron was dedicated on Sunday, December 20, 1885, and stood here until 1959 when the new church was completed. The original building still serves another denomination as a chapel. The church's first regular minister was the Reverend G. J. Powell, who began his ministry in 1887. It was the Reverend Powell who led the effort to establish a Congregational academy in Chadron. The Chadron Academy operated from 1889-1910 when the land was acquired by the State of Nebraska for use as a normal school, today's Chadron State College. First Congregational, U.C.C. Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Museum of the Fur Trade — 3.7 mi
  A museum of what traders and Native nations exchanged, from the oldest known point blanket to a Lakota leader's silver cross, beside the rebuilt Bordeaux trading post east of Chadron.
• The Heritage Center at Red Cloud — 27 mi
  A free gallery of Lakota art on the campus of the old Holy Rosary Mission, where Red Cloud asked for a school and is buried on the hill above it.

More markers nearby

• The Chadron-Chicago Cowboy Race — 0.2 mi
• Chadron State College — 0.5 mi
• Fort Robinson-Camp Sheridan-Pine Ridge Indian Agency Road — 1.3 mi
• The Fort Pierre-Fort Laramie Trail — 3.4 mi