04 Feb The Historic UB Church in South Dakota

The UB church in Milltown, South Dakota, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The church received the designation last summer through the efforts of several board members.

The National Register is designed “to recognize properties which contribute to the prehistoric and historic development of our localities, states, and nation.”

“We are the only church left in the area,” says Darlene Juhnke, a member of the church, “and the only United Brethren in Christ Church in South Dakota.”

Another board member is Theresa Schutt, whose great-great-grandfather, Asa Brink, pastored the church in the 1880s. The congregation actually began in 1878, and the white frame building was erected in 1880.

Milltown UB was among the churches which stuck with Bishop Milton Wright when our group split off from the main body of the United Brethren denomination.

From 1977-1999, the church was served by student pastors from North American Baptist Seminary in Sioux Falls, S. D. From 1999-2006, a minister from a Baptist church in Parkston also filled the Milltown pulpit. Since 2006, the small congregation has not had anyone to conduct services, and the members have been scattered among other area churches.

Milltown was a stagecoach route until 1865, and was a bustling small town. But now, the population is less than 10. The nearest town is Parkston, with 1700 residents.