Most of Rockford’s earliest settles were of English ancestry. German immigrants began coming with greater frequency about 1870. Once settled into their homesteads; German settlers looked for a place of worship. Rockford had no Lutheran church prior to 1906. One of the closest Lutheran congregations was between Delano and Montrose which was called Salem Lutheran church. It was also know as the “Schroeder Church”. The congregation was established in 1859 and had their first church built shortly after 1870 as it was attracting members from a wide area. Many Rockford families would make the trip from Rockford to west of Delano to attend church services as weather permitted. Over the next 50 years as communities grew, groups of members would splinter off from Salem and form a new congregation. In 1927 the Salem church merged with Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Delano. Today only the cemetery remains from this congregation, you will see it on the north side of HWY 12 as you drive between Delano and Montrose. Above is one of the few pictures of this church which was built in 1903. Thank you to Mt. Olive for sharing this photo.
David Cadwell