By 1854 the membership grew too large for the old log chapel and the congregation voted to erect a larger church.  Two years later, June 29, 1856, Rev. A.C. Van Raalte dedicated this structure.

      This historic church is on the National Historic Register.  It was one of the few buildings to survive the devastating fire of 1871 and is a fine example of Greek revival architecture.  Local craftsmen built the six hand made pillars on the site.  The pillars have a solid cedar post in the center and the outside is made of tapered boards somewhat like barrel staves.  All the heavy timbers including the 16-inch sills and crossbeams were hand hewn in the nearby forest.  The interior was originally all wood.  The floors, walls and ceiling were covered with hand planed painted boards.  The exterior cost $2064 while the interior work came to about $ 3000.

       There were three sets of pews, one on each side of the structure where the men sat and a wider center pew for the women and children.  Six potbelly stoves along the sides were used to heat the church, so the women sitting in the center pews, away from the heat, used foot warmers.   During the long services women would occasionally open their snuifdoosjes or smelling boxes and sniff the perfume inside to revive their spirits.  Peppermints would be passed to the children to keep them quiet.

      Each week, one sermon was taken from one of the fifty-two Lord’s Days in the Heidelberg Catechism.  Psalms were sung a cappella in long meter tunes.  (No hymns were used until 1934.)  Elders sat in a reserved section at the front of the church and evaluated the sermon.  Shaking or refusing to shake the dominiee’s hand indicated if the elder approved the message.

      The belfry contained the community bell.  It was rung on Sundays to call people for worship and during the week for meetings, fires and at 7, 12, 1 and 6 to mark the workday.  A clapper on the side of the bell was used to toll for burials, one ring for each year of the deceased’s life.  The four-foot rooster on the weather vane was hammered out of two sheets of copper and soldered together with a wine bottle inside to act as a pivot.  The rooster is symbolic first of a preacher calling the unsaved to repentance and second as a warning not to deny Christ as Peter did three times on the night of Christ’s arrest.

      The marble plaque at the front of the sanctuary honoring Rev. Van Raalte, was dedicated in 1879, three years after his death.  It is written in Dutch.  Its English translation – In memory of Rev. A.C. Van Raalte D.D.,  first pastor of this congregation,  father of this settlement, servant of the Lord.  Mighty in words and in works.

      Over the years, changes have been made in the building.  1902 marked the introduction of electric lights.  In 1947, an attempt was made to modernize the building and improve the sound quality.  The wood walls and ceiling were covered with acoustical tile.  The entire structure was raised in 1950 to add a basement. Amazingly during this period the congregation, never missed a worship service. That same year the old pump organ was replaced and new pipes were added in 1966.  Since then there have been two major upgrades. The education wing was remodeled in 1988.  It was at that time that the heritage room was added in the basement.  It now houses and displays the church’s historic documents and artifacts.