Scarville Lutheran’s history can be traced back as far as 1860 with the formation of Lime Creek Evangelical Lutheran Church, near Lake Mills, Iowa. In 1887, Rev. T. A. Torgerson would travel to serve parishioners, in their own homes, around the area that would later be known as Scarville.
In 1901, this group would go on to build their own church, officially calling themselves Immanuel Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church by 1907. However, only 10 years later, there was a contentious synod merger that divided this congregation. In 1917, the pastor of Immanuel, Rev. Emil Hanson left with only 8 other families to form Scarville Evangelical Lutheran Church across the town.
The school was founded in 1927 as an extension of Scarville Evangelical Lutheran Church and has been in operation ever since. It continues to be affiliated with the church, which is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS). The church recently moved into a new church building across town, but the school continues to hold classes in the former church building.
The ELS is headquartered in Mankato, MN, where it owns and operates Bethany Lutheran College, a liberal arts college which has been under the care of the ELS since 1927. Many of our faculty graduated from the college before teaching at our school. The synod also owns Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary, located on Bethany’s campus.
If you would like to learn more about the ELS, you may view their website here. If you would like to learn more about Bethany, you may find their website linked here.
