WELS' 175th anniversary
On May 26, 1850, three pastors met at Salem in Granville, Wisconsin (now Milwaukee) for the constituting convention of the Wisconsin Synod. In 2025, WELS is celebrating the 175th anniversary of that small beginning. For more information, visit WELS Historical Institute's website at welshistoricalinstitute.org/175th.
Historical photos
First band at Northwestern in Watertown, Wis. in 1885.
Dr. Martin Luther College Choir Tour in 1928.
Seminary Professor August Pieper with his son, daughters, and granddaughter, c. 1918.
WELS members at Berchtesgaden West Germany.
Vacation Bible School teachers
Students at St. John’s, Two Rivers, Wis., with their teacher, Miss Christina Damler, c. 1890.
Pastor Muehlhaeuser
Typesetting for publication at Northwestern Publishing House.
Flag presentation at the Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society national rally, St. Mark’s, Watertown, Wis., 1968.
Edgar Hoenecke and Arthur Wacker with their caravan as they prepared to depart for their exploratory trip in Africa, 1949.
Original church building and parsonage at Grace, Yakima, Wash.
Groundbreaking for the new library at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, 1967.
Frieda and Arnold Knoop with the first 11 children of the East Fork orphanage at the Apache mission, 1920.
A Wisconsin Synod worship service at Fort McCoy, Wis., during World War II.
