August 2026 Update

Many visitors and community members have reached out with a thoughtful question recently: “Why is the cross on top of the Chippewa City Church leaning, and why hasn’t it been fixed?”

It’s a great question, and the answer comes down to our commitment to protecting the safety and structural integrity of this 130-year-old historic building, which is the last remaining physical structure of Chippewa City. 

Last November, the Cook County Historical Society launched a fundraising effort to support the restoration of this site, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Architectural reviews completed in early 2025 revealed severe log and foundation damage that requires a complex, two-phase stabilization and restoration process.

After careful consideration and consultation, CCHS will preemptively and carefully remove the cross to ensure the safety of the site, its visitors, and to protect the building. The cross will be safely preserved until the full structural restoration is complete, at which point it will be reinstalled.

Since launching the campaign for restoration funding, CCHS has been actively applying for grants to help cover the $1M+ needed for the project. We hope to hear updates on these major grants later this fall.

We deeply appreciate our community's care, vigilance, and continued support in preserving the history and heritage of the Chippewa City Church!

May 2026 Update

This month, staff and volunteers conducted some "spring cleaning" of the Chippewa City Church. Over the course of a morning, volunteers helped inspect last year's native tree plantings and straighten and re-anchor the vegetation support systems that wintertime gales and snowstorms had jostled. They also removed a good number of invasive plants that were beginning to grow and pulled a lot of trash that had blown onto the property off Highway 61.

Inside the church, volunteers dusted, swept, shook out carpets, wiped windows, and carefully attended to delicate surfaces. Thank you to all volunteers who helped us get the Church ready for regular summer hours!

November 2025 Update

CCHS launches a $1 million year-long fundraising campaign to help raise funds to restore and preserve the Chippewa City Church. We set a goal of $1,500 for the 2025 Give to the Max Day, where funds will be directed toward the essential professional planning and resource development to organize and execute this comprehensive, multi-year campaign.

Thanks to generous donors and supporters, we raised $1,820!

Summer 2025 Update

A call for bids was put out for restoration work on the Chippewa City Church. Bids for full restoration came in at over $1 million, far exceeding initial expectations (originally thought to be around $600,000).

May & June 2025 Update

Staff and volunteers picked up trash on site (that blew off Highway 61 over the winter), pulled invasives from the property, and planted over 250 native trees and seedlings. Thanks to the Cook County Soil & Water Conservation District for their assistance with species selection and planting, and Pederson’s Disposal for the dumpster.

April 2025 Update

Last year, the Cook County Historical Society hired MacDonald & Mack Architects to complete a Historic Structure Analysis Report on the building.

Building on that report, construction design drawings were completed this year to prepare CCHS for restoration bids. Following a site visit, the architects created these drawings to guide preservation work in accordance with the Minnesota Historical Society and the Department of the Interior Standards for Treatment on Historic Properties. They focus on rebuilding the chimneys, rehabilitating windows, addressing critical foundation needs, and repairing the log walls.

During their site visit, architects mapped out precise repair areas using non-invasive LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to minimize structural disturbance. They removed a couple of pieces of siding to examine two walls before reinstalling them. The survey report revealed critical log and foundation damage that will require a complex, two-phase stabilization and restoration process.

Based on a 2023 Historic Structures Report, it was initially thought that the church structure could be temporarily moved to fix the foundation and moved back; however, after the 2025 survey, the architects determined that it would be safer to complete the project in two phases.

Phase 1: Log restoration (stabilization): The compromised logs must be restored and strengthened while the building is still in place.

Phase 2: Foundation and relocation: Once the log structure is stable, the building will be moved to an adjacent spot, the existing foundation will be repaired/replaced, and the building will be moved back into its historic position.

CCHS plans to put out a call for bids and launch a fundraising campaign, which will include grant applications.