Salem Mennonite Church (General Conference Mennonite Church), now extinct, member of the Northern District Conference, in Butterfield, Watonwan County, Minnesota, was organized in 1896 under the sponsorship of the Bethel Church of Mountain Lake, a neighboring town. A church building was erected that same year. In 1915 the Menno Simons congregation in Butterfield, of Swiss origin, merged with the Salem Church. In a few years friction developed between the two groups which caused the Swiss members to leave Salem in 1921 and build a new church in 1922, known today as the Mennonite Church of Butterfield. The "Gemeinde-Chronik" of Salem has no membership list, but an aged former member reports that it never had more than 50 members. The separation of the two groups left the Salem congregation in a weakened position. On 2 October 1926, the congregation decided to sell the church and dispose of all church property. The last entry in the official record is made 16 July 1934, when the Salem Church organization was formally dissolved. A few of its former members had died, some moved away, and others joined neighboring congregations.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 405. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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