We often think of states like California, Washington, and Oregon as having large immigrant populations, but did you know that in the early 20th century, Montana had more immigrants than any other state west of the Mississippi, with the exception of North Dakota? Newcomers were lured to the state by the promise of free land or the hopes of striking it rich in the mines. Some desperately wanted to escape their war-torn homelands or wanted more opportunity. The railroad also encouraged Europeans, especially Germans and Scandinavians, to head west.

By 1920, it is estimated that there were 4,500 Evangelical and 266 Catholic Volga German immigrants of the first and second generation living in Montana. They had come for a different reason, the development of the Huntley Project, an irrigation project in southern Montana that was established by the United States Bureau of Reclamation in 1907. This project brought water to the far reaches of the Yellowstone Valley and sparked the development of the sugar beet industry.

Regardless of how or why they arrived, German settlers were here to put down roots and that included establishing churches. In 1917, German farmers from the Volga colonies in Russia built the Evangelical and Reformed German Lutheran Church in Hardin. Since many of them were cultivating sugar beets, the Holly Sugar Beet Company gave a substantial donation to help with construction. The church faced severe trials in the early years because of anti-German sentiment during World War I. Use of the German language was strictly forbidden, which was a great hardship for the immigrants. The church had no choice but to briefly close during the Great War.

Eventually a new church was constructed and the E & R Church was left empty. It was saved from destruction and moved to the Big Horn County Museum in 1981. Local sleuths tracked down the original pews, pulpit, and organ and reinstalled them in the church. It stands as a testament of the strong faith and perseverance of the immigrants. If you listen closely, especially at Christmastime, you might even hear the echoes of the German choir singing “Stille Nacht”.