Our History

Date	Event
October 4, 1860	Universalists hold organizational meeting.
1861	Universalists hold Sunday Services led by Rev. Barnes.
1862-1865	Universalists suspend activities due to the Civil War.
June 19, 1865	Universalists receive state incorporation.
July 1865	First Universalist Church ground-breaking, 8th & Cass.
August 1866	First Universalist Church completed.
1870	First Universalist Church votes to rename itself “St. Paul’s Universalist Church.”
1895-1905	St. Paul’s in La Crosse is the largest Universalist congregation in Wisconsin.
1899-1902	Rev. Nellie Mann Opdale is St. Paul’s minister. Departs amidst conflict.
1920s	Declining membership; St. Paul’s Universalist building rented to the Church of Christ.
1930	Universalist congregation dissolved.

Date	Event
1951	Unitarian Fellowship organized in La Crosse under the leadership of Carroll Gundersen. Fellowship draws significantly from university, business, and medical professionals in La Crosse.
1951-1960	Fellowship holds Sunday evening meetings at the YWCA building (West Avenue & Main).
1961	Fellowship formally organizes as the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse, the new name reflecting the nationwide organizational merger.
1961-2004	Fellowship conducts Sunday services, first at the Grandview Building (17th & Main), then at the Southside Seniors Center (1220 Denton).
2004-2007	Fellowship growth led to a move to the Pump House Regional Arts Center, 119 King Street.
May 2007	Fellowship purchases its own building at 401 West Avenue S., first time owning a building.
2007-2016	Unitarian Universalist Fellowship has growth phase.
2016-2020	Fellowship hires Rev. Krista Taves as consulting minister.
2020-2022	Fellowship hires Rev. Leslie Mills as consulting minister.

2022-2024	Fellowship hires Rev. Bruce Johnson as consulting minister.
June 2024 – present	Rev. Bruce Johnson retires. The Fellowship returns to being lay-led.

UU La Crosse