Press release:
For immediate release.
September 14, 2004
from Friends of Rutland Center Church and Cemetery

Contact: Jennifer Ehle
608-873-7600
stevee@inwave. com

Rutland Church and Cemetery Tour Planned

Interested individuals are invited to a tour of Rutland Center Church and Cemetery on Saturday, October 2, 2004 between 1 and 4 PM.  Jerry Neath, committee historian, will give a presentation on the history of the Rutland United Brethren Church at 1:30 PM.  This event will occur unless there is a steady downpour.  The rain date will be Sunday, October 3, between 1PM and 4 PM.

The tour is being sponsored by a local group of interested citizens who have joined together to save the historic building, located three miles south of Oregon, Wisconsin on U.S. Highway 14.  The building was built in 1852 and was originally established as the Rutland United Brethren Church.  It was the site of the first session of the Wisconsin Conference Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1858.  Numerous conferences followed until church services were discontinued in 1912.  In 1974, the church and cemetery were turned over to the Town of Rutland.

The Rutland Center Church and Cemetery Committee has worked diligently for the past two years in collecting data about the building and creating strategies to restore the building.  The Wisconsin Historical Society recently approved nomination to the Wisconsin Registry of Historic Places. Jerry Neath has done extensive archival research on the history of the church for the Wisconsin Registry application, which will be shared with the group on October 2.

Individuals are encouraged to bring written documentation of their family history to the tour.  Genealogical information is being collected on individuals interred at the cemetery.  Eventually, the genealogical material will be stored at the Oregon Historical Society.

Membership information will be available to join the Friends of the Rutland Center Church and Cemetery with a donation of $25.00 per year.

Please contact Jennifer Ehle 608-873-7600 with questions regarding the tour.

The Rutland Center Church and Cemetery Committee meets monthly at the Oregon Historical Society.  Interested individuals are encouraged to attend the meetings.  Minutes from past meetings, dates of upcoming meetings and more is listed on their website at www.rutlandchurch.org. The next scheduled meeting committeeof the Friends of the Rutland Church and Cemetery is Thursday, October 14, 2004 at 3 PM at the Oregon Area Historical Society, 159 W. Lincoln, Oregon, WI.