Minnesota became a state in 1858. The city of Edina began to grow in the mid-1800's, when a mill was established near Minnehaha creek. In 1869, Andrew Craik purchased the mill and named it "Edina Mills", after his hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1880, the Minnehaha Grange No. 398 was organized on the site where the church now stands. The Grange Society was a fraternal and service organization dedicated to improving life in rural communities.
Throughout the years, the Grange Hall was used by civic organizations, religious groups and by the Village of Edina Mills for council meetings. In 1906 the Grangers held a benefit for the victims of the San Francisco earthquake and fire; the event raised an impressive $41. During WW I, the Hall served as a community gathering place.
By 1936, Edina's population was approaching 5,000. The Country Club, a residential district developed by the Thorpe Bros. in 1924, where St. Stephen's is located, had been recognized as one of four outstanding subdivisions in the United States.
Clint Christopher, an Edina resident, met occasionally for lunch at the YMCA with the Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota, Stephen Keeler. Conversation frequently concerned mission work and one day it centered on the possibility of beginning an Episcopal mission in this growing village. On April 18th, after a petition of 25 signatures had been presented to the Bishop, St. Stephen the Martyr Episcopal Church was established.
The congregation met in Wooddale School with the Reverend Elliot Marston as rector. That first Sunday, 115 adults and 67 children gathered for worship. In a little over a year, ground was broken across the street for a church building at 50th St. and Wooddale, the site of the old Grange Hall (presently located on Eden Avenue). The site is on the banks of Minnehaha Creek.
In 1951, a parish house was constructed, providing office and education space. Three years later, the tower entrance on the west was built, adding balcony seating space for 70 worshippers over the Narthex and two choir rooms below ground level. The chapel wing was added in the late 1960s. Embedded in the Narthex floor is one of the original millstones from the Edina Mill.
Today St. Stephen's is the largest Episcopal church in Minnesota. Our membership is called to the purpose of our vision statement, "Deepening our faith and brings others to Christ".
Dobson Pipe Organ | St. Stephen's, Old Radnor, Wales
