Ortley Lutheran Church, then and now

Here is a historic picture of what was then called the "Norwegian Lutheran Church" in Ortley, not long after the building was built in about 1906, looking NE:



In comparison, here is the present church building of what is now Ortley Free Lutheran Church, photographed in 2002, looking SE:



For many years it was known as Zion Lutheran Church of Ortley, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which eventually merged with The American Lutheran Church. It was in a parish with Summit, Lebanon, and Marvin churches. In the late 1960s it was officially merged with the church in Summit, but Ortley Free Lutheran Church was founded in 1971, purchased the church building from Hope Lutheran in Summit, and has been going strong since then.

A personal note - though my relatives belonged to Lebanon Lutheran Church south of Ortley, my grandfather Olaf (Bill) Peterson and his brother Henry were confirmed at Ortley, since it was the earliest of the area Norwegian Lutheran churches to adopt the English language. My uncle Arlo Peterson was also confirmed in Ortley.

Historical pictures, etc., are more than welcome on this site. Let me know if you have a scanned picture, or one I can scan and put on the site.

Clarification: People have asked if the old church picture was the Free Methodist Church building in the SW part of town. Nope, it's the same building as the current Ortley Free Lutheran Church! The annex wing on the North side of the building was built in the early to mid-1970s, along with the current entryway.