History or the Casselton Stone Church
by Dellis Schrock

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church 1886-1950

The cornerstone of the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church was laid on the eve of July 20, 1886, by Rev A. D. Walker, Bishop if North Dakota. The building was consecrated in August, 1887. Some articles reported to have been placed in the cornerstone, southwest corner of the building, including a prayer book of the Episcopal Church, the CASSELTON REPORTER, and the MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE, current stamps and coins, a list of the President and the Cabinet member of the United States, and officers of the Episcopalian Diocese of North Dakota.

On the back of one of the pews in charcoal is written the shipping address: "St Stephens Church, Casselton, Dakota Territory, c/o George Hancock, Architect." This architect designed a number of churches of fieldstone construction in the state and also was the architect for a half dozen buildings in Fargo. The design is reported to reflect styles Mr. Hancock brought from his London, England, architectural education. The stonemason was Nathaniel McConomy, a Scotsman who came here from South Africa. He brought in fieldstone from Buffalo, ND, by freight and then to the site by os carts from the depot.

St Stephen has fifteen stained glass windows brought here from Italy, is built of fieldstone, the wall three and four feet thick at the footings. Reports are the the building was donated to the congregation and the town by General George Cass, President of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and some East Coast contributors, to show his appreciation for naming the town after him. The church is a replica of the church General Cass attended as a boy in New York.

Mrs. Lafe Correll, a lifelong resident of Casselton, was born on the day the church was consecrated. She was the first baptized, and later was the first confirmed in the church.

Rev John Treneman, the first clergyman at Calvary Episcopal Church in Buffalo, North Dakota, shared the ministry with St. Stephens. The ministers commuted by train between the two parished. Rev Treneman served from 188701900; A. Chard 1900-1901; and Rev Childs, who moved to Casselton in 1902 and served for a time. He still served the Buffalo parish.

In the 1940s few Episcopal members remained, the church was no longer used and was in need of repair. In 1949 Bishop Atwell, the Chancellor, and with the recommendation of Judge Mart Vogel of Fargo, it was moved that church building should be put up for sale. On September 12, 1950, official were authorized to sell the stone church to the Mennonites for $3,500. The Mennonites were willing to restore the building and use it for worship; Rev A. J. Stoll, pastor for the Mennonites, helped negotiate the transfer from the Episcopalian members.

Casselton Mennonite Church 1951-2002

The Casselton Mennonite Church had its beginnings in the area in 1928 under the leadership of Paster I.S. Mast, who had responded to an invitation to Mennonites by tye AMERICAN LAND COMPANY of Fargo to settle on the Chaffee estate land in Amenia Township. IN the '30s a number of Mennonite farm families settled in the valley to farm and worshiped in a number of meeting places in the Casselton area and was called THE RED RIVER MENNONITE CHURCH until this building was purchases on September 12, 1950. After the purchase of the Stone Church, the congregation changed their name to Casselton Mennonite Church.

After securing the building, member volunteers repaired the building, excavated the basement area, installed bathrooms, a kitchen, a commons room for dining and Sunday School classes, put on a new roof, repainted all the mortar joints, reinforced the walls and put in new carpet. The fieldstone sign erected in the front of the church in August, 1970, by Fay Johnson and Dellis Schrock was funded by the Mennonite Youth Fellowship who helped retrieve the stone from an old barn foundation.

The Mennonites had a vibrant fellowship for two generations in the '50s, 60's and 70's with sixteen to twenty families, raised their children who then scattered and moved to other parts of the country. The Mennonite congregation shifted from farming families in the '30s to businesses and professionals after WW II, becoming more mobile; families moving in and out of the congregation frequently. Because of declining membership, the few remaining Mennonites decided to close in 2002, and in 2004 agreed to contribute the Stone Church building to the Casselton community.

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