Danforth Reformed Church - 1869-2026
Danforth Reformed Church's faith journey is intimately connected to the Netherlands. The Illinois Central Railroad Company ran through Iroquois County on a regular basis. One of the railroad employees was a native of the Netherlands. The Danforth Brothers purchased land around 1856 from the railroad company and formed Danforth township and asked the employee from Netherland to come and help him drain the fields and make them more fertile.
The Netherlanders that came to Danforth came with the motto, "Without the Lord, all is in vain." The families came forth with a sense of religious commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Wisconsin Classis knew this truth and aided in the forming of a church on September 14, 1869 and it was known as the Reformed Church of Danforth.
In 1872, the first church and parsonage were built. A pipe organ was purchased through a grant from the Carnegie fund in 1914. An extensive renovation took place in 1930. Ground-breaking for the new church took place in 1954 and the church was dedicated in 1955 with a variety of special services. The present parsonage was built in 1967. The old church was torn down and used to build the parsonage. In 1999, a memorial gift of a Rodgers organ was given by Lester and Annabelle Bensema, thus continuing to enrich the present building and church family. In the spring of 2002, a handicapped-accessible addition was added to the west side of the church, including a chair-lift. With a grant from the Reformed Church of America and the aid of dear former and present members, we wer able to build the chair-lift. In the spring of 2009, the last loan payment was made, thus completing this project.
The prayer is that we continually reach out like the past generations and make a difference both in the building that others have left behind and more importantly, that lives are changed as Jesus Christ is presented.
Celebration of Our Former Ministers
Reverand R. Duiker - 1872-1874 and 1877-1878
Reverend L.J. Hulst - 1874-1876
Reverend Meulendyke - 1879-1882
Reverend C. Kriekard - 1884-1888
Reverend P. Siegers - 1893-1897
Reverend C. Heins - 1898-1900
Reverend A. Osterhof - 1901-1904
Reverend M.E. Koster - 1905-1911
Reverend P.C. DeJong - 1912-1917
Reverend L. Dykstra -1918-1923
Reverend J. Hoffman - 1928-1929 and 1954-1961
Reverend R. Vanderpool - 1929-1939
Reverend G.J. Ver Steeg - 1937-1947
Reverend G. Kots - 1948-1953
Reverend N. Ratering - 1961-1967
Reverend H. Van Egmond - 1968-1985
Reverend S. Seagren - 1985-1991
Mr. J. Drenth - 1992-1993 (Served as Student Pastor)
Reverend D.J. MacDonald III - 1994-2026