The Rock Church - St. Olaf Lutheran Congregation
Cranfills Gap, Bosque County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1886 of native stone by architect Andrew Mickelson and his brothers, Christian and Ole Mickelson. It originally had a dirt floor and planks laid on wooden kegs for pews. The bell was acquired in 1897. The church served the Norwegian settlers of this area, who were members of Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Norse (6 miles east). In 1902, the growth of the community necessitated separation from the Norse church, and the St. Olaf congregation was organized. A new edifice was erected in Cranfills Gap (4 miles west) in 1917, and this church has since been used only for special services. Incise on back: In Memory of Otto H. Reesing 1890-1974
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Rock Church was raised in 1886 from native stone by architect Andrew Mickelson and his brothers Christian and Ole, beginning humbly with a dirt floor and planks laid across kegs for pews. It served the Norwegian settlers of this Bosque County community, an offshoot of Our Savior's Lutheran Church at nearby Norse. As the settlement grew, the St. Olaf congregation organized in 1902 and later built a new church in Cranfills Gap, leaving this sturdy stone sanctuary for special occasions.
Why it matters
It stands as a testament to the Norwegian immigrants whose stone churches dot the Texas hill country and to the ethnic communities that shaped the frontier.
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Related people
- · Andrew Mickelson
- · Christian Mickelson
- · Ole Mickelson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
The Bertelsen House
Cranfills Gap, TX
The stone portion of this house was raised in the 1880s for Norwegian settler Andres Johnson, likely by builder Andrew Mickelson, who worked on other structures in the community. In 1894 Bertel and Christena Bertelsen bought the property, enlarged the stone house, and around 1910 added a frame wing to hold their family of eighteen children. The home stayed with the Bertelsen family until 1977.
Homestead of Knud S. Knudson
Cranfills Gap, TX
Norwegian immigrant Knud S. Knudson brought his family to Bosque County in 1868, received a state land grant, and built a farm at this site. A small 1860s log home was later enlarged with a limestone addition, and the farmstead, with its home, barns, and outbuildings, stayed in the family until 1945. It survives as a fine example of a rural Norwegian vernacular farm complex.
Jens Jenson Homestead
Clifton, TX
Jens Jenson came to Bosque County in 1854 with his Norwegian immigrant family, went to sea out of Galveston, and served in the Confederate Army before settling to farm. Beginning with a single stone room in 1867, he expanded the house as his family grew to eleven children, and his descendants have farmed the ancestral acres ever since.
St. Olaf Lutheran Church
Cranfills Gap, TX
When Norwegian immigrants settled Bosque County beginning in 1854, Lutheranism became the region's dominant faith. In 1886 they built St. Olaf Kirke—the beloved "Old Rock Church"—named for Norway's patron saint, and in 1917 raised a Romanesque Revival "Brick Church" hailed as the costliest and largest rural Lutheran church in the county. Services were held in Norwegian until 1927, and the congregation still keeps its Norwegian heritage alive today.