The Erste Deutche Baptisten Kirche (First German Baptist Church) was established at 7th and Winnebago Streets in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1893, in a building owned by the Scandinavian Baptists, who allowed all denominations use of their building. The first membership list from 1893 shows 11 members under the direction of Rev. Frederick Heineman and August Kaaz, the church’s first Deacon. After two years, the congregation bought the church building from the Scandinavians with the sum of $1,500, given by church member Francis Splitter. The church remained in that building until 1949, when they moved a few blocks to the building on 7th and Ferry Streets.
This building at 7th and Ferry had previously been owned by the Salzer Memorial Methodist Church, and was partially destroyed by a fire in 1945. Members of the Baptist congregation renovated the church, salvaging and repairing the many stained glass windows (one of which dates from 1856 and is valued at more than $80,000). The rebuilding was supervised by Deacon August Kaaz, who was a general contractor.
The congregation remained active at that location, sponsoring mission churches and missionaries from Mound Prairie, Minnesota, to Africa. In 1945, the First German Baptist Church became the 7th Street Baptist Church, and in the mid-1950s became the Bible Baptist Church. Bible Baptist Church was affiliated with the North American Baptists, and disbanded in 2009.
