Written by Phil Wala
Tour Hennepin’s 1911-1915 Church on May 18, 2025
This building has been the Scottish Rite Temple since 1915 when it was purchased from Hennepin Avenue Church. This was our place of worship from 1911 to 1915, but it is seldom open to the public. But on Sunday, May 18 the Scottish Rite Masons will conduct three tours specifically for Hennepin Avenue UMC members and friends, highlighting the building’s Methodist history. Tours will be at 12, 2, and 4 pm. Spaces are limited, so register in advance to reserve your spot. The building is on the corner of Franklin and Dupont Avenues (right next to Sebastian Joe’s Ice Cream). Register Here
How Did Fowler Church Become Hennepin Avenue Church?
The building we will be touring on May 18 was originally the home of Fowler Methodist Church. At the time, Methodist churches in large cities were spaced about a mile apart from each other, so that any resident could have a church within easy walking distance. The location of Fowler Church at Franklin and Dupont was 1.2 miles away from Hennepin Avenue Church at 10th and Hennepin, an ideal spacing.
But in 1911, Hennepin Church needed a new building, and the property that T. B. Walker was offering at Lyndale and Groveland was well inside Fowler’s territory–only 6 blocks from the church Fowler had completely just 3½ years ago. The solution: the Hennepin and Fowler congregations would merge and then move into the new Groveland Avenue cathedral as a larger, stronger, and united congregation. Until the new building was ready, they would meet together in the Fowler building at Franklin and Dupont, using the Hennepin Church name.
This map shows the 1911 locations of the old Hennepin and Fowler churches relative to our present location.
1863 (May 9)
This is the earliest known newspaper listing for a Methodist church in Minneapolis. On May 9, 1863, Abraham Lincoln is president, it’s a couple of months before the Battle of Gettysburg, the population of Minneapolis is about 8,000, and the term “twin cities” generally means Minneapolis and St. Anthony. And on Oregon Street (now 3rd Avenue South), between 4th and 5th Streets¹ is the Methodist Church of Minneapolis. It had no other name (since it was the only church in Minneapolis) but it was sometimes referred to as “the little white church.” It would later become Centenary Church, which in 1875 gave birth to Hennepin Avenue Church.
(Minnesota State News)
¹ across the street (to the west) from today’s site of Minneapolis City Hall
1869 (May 11)
The “little white church” has been renamed Centenary Church, and their new building on the south corner of Seventh Street South and what is now Marquette Avenue has been completed and dedicated. Adding a cornerstone at this point seems to have been an afterthought. But the date is significant because it happened to coincide with another newsworthy event–the completion of “the grandest enterprise ever accomplished by mortal hands.”
(Minneapolis Tribune)
1875 (May 9)
There’s a rumor going around that somehow Hennepin Avenue Church began because of a fistfight. Well, here’s the part that’s true: If you can call a single punch a “fistfight,” we can confirm that on Sunday afternoon, May 9, 1875, following a meeting of Centenary Methodist Church Sunday School teachers, the left fist of Mr. John Horton contacted the right cheek of Dr. William Stanton with sufficient force to render him unconscious for about twenty minutes. Below is the beginning of a Tribune article describing the event.
What’s not true is that Hennepin Church was launched the next day—it was actually launched five months later. And the knockout punch was just one of many flashpoints in a conflict that lasted for years and was on full public display on the pages of local newspapers. Many recently discovered details of this fascinating (maybe even scandalous!) story will be revealed in the upcoming book, Aspire! The 150-Year History of Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, published by Nodin Press.
1889 (May 11)
Hennepin pastor Dr. R. N. McKaig has served two years of his three-year appointment, and by all accounts is capable and well-liked. Nevertheless, the church board has decided that they want him out. The reason? They have an opportunity to bring in a high-profile pastor from the East Coast, Dr. Otis H. Tiffany to compete with Dr. D. J. Burrell, the powerhouse preacher at Westminster Presbyterian.
(Minneapolis Journal)
1910 (May 8)
T. B. Walker has purchased a house at the corner of Douglas and Hennepin and is moving it directly across the street to property he owns at 610 Summit Avenue near the site of the new church, where it will serve as a parsonage for Rev. Charles Wesley Burns and Rev. Lucius Bugbee. The upcoming book on the history of Hennepin Church will tell the story of what it took to move this house across Hennepin Avenue.
(Minneapolis Journal)
1930 (May 13)
Thirty-one-year-old Rev. Richard C. Raines has been named the new senior pastor for Hennepin Avenue Church. He will serve as pastor for eighteen years (longer than any other Hennepin pastor) guiding the church through the depression and World War II, before being named bishop in 1948.
(Minneapolis Tribune)
1937 (May 9)
The Black congregation of Border Methodist Episcopal Church was forced out of its church building on Border Avenue (near 4th and Lyndale) to make way for the new Minneapolis Farmers’ Market. A new church was built just a couple blocks to the west at 4th and Aldrich. Hennepin Church developed a partnership with Border Church, and Dr. Raines was there for the dedication. Click the image below to read the full program for the dedication service.
1981 (May 10)
When Bishop Richard Raines (Hennepin Pastor 1930-1948) died in September 1981, Minneapolis Star columnist Willmar Thorkelson quoted in the obituary (read it here) from the last sermon Raines preached at Hennepin. That was four months earlier, on Mother’s Day of that same year, and 51 years after he had been named the new young pastor of Hennepin Church. Click here to hear Raines’ last message to Hennepin Church.
