It all started when…
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law on May 20, 1862, that created a method of westward expansion that would be responsible for the settlement of over 270 million acres of the American landscape. The act also fulfilled the long-held hopes and dreams of many free land advocates who had for years been lobbying for the passage of some form of a homesteading law.
It was not until 1878 when the first “Dakota boom” took off with many people moving into the South Dakota area. Most headed for land between the Missouri and the James Rivers but others flocked to the Black Hills with the recent discovery of gold.
In 1902, a project began to build a dam on Owl Creek in Butte County, creating one of the world’s largest earthen dams, 6,262 feet long and 122 feet high. In 1907 the Bureau of Reclamation developed an “Experiment Farm” in the location that is now Newell, SD. By 1909, a few houses and our little church were built and in 1910 the dam construction was completed and construction begin for Newell’s first homes and businesses.
1909…our church is built
Our church was founded in 1909 as the “First Congregational Church” of Newell and is one of the first and oldest churches in the town of Newell. Newell Christian Fellowship is still an independent confessional Congregationalist Church and we practice and teach the Reformed tradition of Protestantism. There are very few independent confessional Congregationalist Churches remaining in America and we are proud of our heritage. 20 years ago, Newell Christian Fellowship voted to become a fully independent church but keeping the congregational governance and reformed theology tradition.
