Our Unitarian Church North building
stands on 8 acres amid what was the ancestral home of the Potawatomi and Ho Chunk Indigenous people during the 1700s. As European settlers began coming to live in Wisconsin in the 1800s, they bought and cleared the prairie land and woodlands for farming. The Indigenous people along the western shore of Lake Michigan began moving west, and some Potawatomi moved north to stay.
UCN’s church building is a replication of the 8-sided barns built in this area in the late 1800s, several built by the Clausing family, Prussian immigrants to Wisconsin. Choosing this style of construction is our way to respect history, remain custodians of the land we own, and build with natural and sustainable materials.
Our 8-sided barn building was built for UCN in 1986, and an addition was constructed in the early 1990’s. The Building Committee of volunteers keeps the building in good repair, with professional help when needed. The peaked roof and cupola are visible within the natural landscape we have preserved, as you drive past 13800 N. Port Washington Road (County Highway W), Mequon, WI.
After the original building construction was complete, the surrounding ground was barren dirt. The volunteer Landscaping Committee worked systematically to nurture the return of the plants and grasses natural to the land. Today this natural landscape is preserved and protected all around the building.
