The Story
Rothbury Church District was called Stryj after a village in Austria. The church was called Peace Lutheran Church and it branched off from the Grace Church at Beresina. Stryj built its church in 1916 for $950 and remodeled it in 1942. They shared the pastor from Grace Lutheran in Beresina. In December, 1954, the Peace Church had a congregation of 60 people and 42 communicants.
One of the charter members was Jacob Daum who donated two acres from his homestead for the church and cemetery. The land was the SW corner of SW 10-24-32. Other charter members were: L. John, Adam Schutz, John and Ludwig Rathgeber Sr., Julius Nicksmith, Philip Schappert, Rudolf and Philip Dressler.
The church district of Stryj was changed to Rothbury (date unknown) to give it the same name as the school district, which was just a few miles north.
The Rothbury Lutheran Church closed on December 31, 1962. The church was sold and has since been demolished.
The cemetery is on the same two acres, a little south east of the church site. The first burial was Maria Geib in 1917, and the last burial was in 1964. The cemetery is fenced separately in the two acre plot with a nice page wire fence with metal posts, and it is in good shape. Some gravestones need straightening.
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Finding the Cemetery
GPS: 51.04954,-101.88977
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Driving Directions
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Driving from Churchbridge, go 10 miles north on Highway 80. The cemetery is located on the east side of the highway.
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The map below is a screenshot that shows directions to the cemetery. To view the interactive map, click here.
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