Salem-Zion Mennonite Church & Cemetery
Section 34 - Rosefield Township - Turner County - South Dakota
27844 443rd Avenue - Freeman, South Dakota
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Salem-Zion Mennonite Church
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History of Salem-Zion Mennonite Church
Salem-Zion Mennonite Church is located 5 miles east of Freeman, South Dakota, and is a member of Central Plains Conference of Mennonite Church USA. This congregation was formed from two congregations that had their origins in Switzerland, then moving to Volhynia, South Russia in the early 1800’s, living in Horodyszcze and Waldheim. In 1874, 68 families from these two villages immigrated to America and settled in southeastern South Dakota.
These immigrants worshipped together for two years, but divided in 1876. The Horodyszcze group built a meetinghouse in 1880 on the site of the present church building, Rosefield Township, Section 34, Turner County. It was called the Salem Church. In 1881 the Waldheim group erected a meetinghouse in Childstown Township, Section 7, Turner County. It was called the Zion Church. By 1894 the two groups were again meeting together using both facilities and the Salem-Zion Mennonite Church was born. In 1902, the Zion Church was destroyed in a storm (it was never rebuilt) and the two congregations merged. In 1908 a new congregation was established now known as the Salem Mennonite (South) Church located in Childstown Township, Section 16, Turner County, 2 ½ miles south of the parent Salem-Zion Mennonite (North) Church.
The accomplished farmers that settled in this area brought with them a strong dedication to their vocation and their religious beliefs and soon had a thriving community established.
In 1910 an organ was purchased by the Salem-Zion congregation that took its place as a vital part in the services, and in 1912 a rebuilt Salem-Zion church building was dedicated. It was remodeled again in 1928. In 1930 the first salaried minister was called and the church continued to grow in members and mission. As with many ethnic congregations, services continued to be given in the German language, their cultural heritage, well into the 1900’s. The construction of the present church building began in 1956 and the church was dedicated in 1958.
While there has been some decline in membership, the church has remained strong
and continues to have a major role in regional, national and international
programs of the Mennonite faith. It has expanded its horizons to meet the
spiritual and physical needs of a complex society and world.
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There are three major parts to the information on this web page as prepared by Ken Tiahrt in 2009,
with the generous assistance of the cemetery sexton. lication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires written approval.
1. A Cemetery Map
Maps of the cemetery showing the individual lots in relationship to the adjacent Turner County Roadway, 443 Avenue, gives the user a physical setting.
2. A List of Burials
A listing of the burials at Salem-Zion Mennonite Cemetery – Section 34 – Rosefield Township – Turner County, gives the individual names in alphabetic order. This listing also gives the year of birth and year of death when available.
Photos of Grave Monuments
**UPDATE NOTE - October 2018 -- The cemetery list does not contain any tombstone photographs. Thankyou for understanding. Anyone wanting to donate personal tombstone pics is encouraged to do so on the following dedicated site for that purpose: South Dakota Gravestones Project.
