ICELANDIC CHURCHES IN THE USA AND CANADA
Thingvalla church Eyford North Dakota USA
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Thingvalla church

thingvalla.jpg
Image taken by Gudmundur Vidarsson in 1996

Thingvalla church

 

The Thingvalla Icelandic Lutheran Church is located about three miles south of Mountain. The congregation was organized in 1889 and joined the Synod the same year. At first, the members of the congregation came primarily from the Gardar congregations.

 

Their church was built in 1892 and 1893 and dedicated by the Synod in 1896.

 

This congregation joined the Pembina Hills Evangelical Lutheran Parish and was used for only occasional services.

 

It got burnt to the ground on June 3rd 2003

 

Of special interest about this church is the stone monument in the front yard in honor of the Icelandic folk-poet, K. N. Julius.

knjulius.jpg

thingvallasign.jpg

Tha back side of the Morgunbladid Iceland 5thJune
mbl.jpg
Copyright: Morgunbladid - Iceland

 
The Thingvalla church
burns down on 3rd of June !

Charred wooden beams and twisted metal were about all that remained of the Thingvalla Lutheran Church on Wednesday afternoon, a day after the century-old structure burned to the ground near Mountain".  Grand Forks Herald 5th june

 
 
You can read about it in the above links.

The Icelandic Churches of the

Pembina Hills Lutheran Parish

 

The Pembina Hills Evangelical Lutheran Parish is located in western Pembina and eastern Cavalier Counties.
 
The eight Icelandic churches in the area of the Pembina Hills Evangelical Lutheran Parish are Vikur
at Mountain, Pioneer and Luther at Gardar, Thingvalla at Eyford, Fjalla near Milton, Hallson at Hallson, Peturs at Svold, and Vidalin at Akra.
 
FROM THE ICELANDIC
CENTENNIAL BOOKLET
 
"Eyford is a name given to a community that is now located on both sides of highway 32 about midway between Gardar and Mountain. Jacob Sigurson Eyford came from iceland in March of 1880 and filed on a homestead midway between Mountain and Gardar.
 
Here a large house was built from lumber that was hauled by oxen from Pembina.
The house which was painted white was nicknamed the 'White House'  and served
as a guide mark for travelers. A combined post office and general store was built near the house buyt was discontinued several years later.

Eyford is still used in connection with the community, the church, and the hall.

The Thingvalla congregation, usually called Eyford, was organized early in 1889.
At a meeting on December 20, 1891, a building of a church was first discussed,
and on April 10, 1892, a bid of approximately $800 was accepted. The outside structure was built in the summer of 1892, and the inside was finished in 1893. The building which is 40 feet long, 26 feet wide, and  52 feet to the top of the steeple cost $2,500.
 
One item that attracts visitors attention is a monument just north of the church, which is s memorial to K. N. Julius, an Icelandic poet who lived in the Eyford area.
 
The church had its 75th anniversary in 1967. Improvements made in the last few years include the installation of electric heat and carpets in parts of the church."
 
Excerpt from the Grand Forks Herald
 
This church was unusual because most of its interior artifacts - the organ, the altar statue, the pews - were originals, Olafson said. He added that although all the Pembina Hills churches incorporate Icelandic architecture, Thingvalla was extremely similar to the Icelandic church, Tingvellir, after which the area was named.
 
Olafson said Thingvalla was popular with Icelandic tourists, who would visit the monument and read Julius's poetry there.