Also known as the “Cathedral in the Pines.”
Historic Site Penturen Church was started in 1926 and has since been restored. It now stands alone deep in the wilderness of the Beltrami Island Forest.
The doors are open 24 hours a day for visitors and worshiping. While visiting, feel free to step inside and enter the past. A collection of notebooks sits on a table below the cross filled with names of those who traveled here. Be sure to add your names to the book. You can also browse photo albums along with some history about the church. The surroundings are so tranquil. If a gentle breeze is blowing, you can hear the melancholy tune of the windchimes hanging on the steeple.
- Besides being a chapel, a cemetery sits under the tall pines marked by a 10-foot cross
- The Penturen Catholic Cemetery was settled ten years before the church was built
- It is located in the Unorg Elkwood Twp Sec 36, the name coming from the many elk that had located in this township due to the coverage of wooded lands
The first settlers to this area came in the early 1900s to live and work the land. Their artisan well still provides water to guests and woodland animals. It was said to be a hard life with rocky land and cold winters. Many of the original settlers are buried here. The State of Minnesota offered a resettlement program to its inhabitants between the years of 1934 to 1936 and turned over the land to Beltrami Island State Forest. The residents were all asked to move out of Sec 36.
In 1992, the Roseau County Historical Restoration surveyed the cemetery and found stone marking burials as early as the 1900’s. They discovered these markers.
Ebertowski, Baby Boy, b. /d. 1915, newer headstone, Around the curve from the little cemetery to the West side
Ebertowski, girl, b. /d. unknown
Ingeman, Garyle, b. 1944, d. 2002, new headstone
Merger, Mrs., b. /d. unknown, mother of John & Peter
Stanislowski, no first name, b. /d. unknown
Szczesny, Jakob, b. 2 Jul 1850, d. 11 June 1926
Znajda, Victoria Ann, b. 22 Dec 1920, d. 6 Oct 1921, Baby girl, newer headstone, the original broken cross rests by the side of headstone, around the curve from the little cemetery to the West side
Today guests can drive, ATV, or snowmobile into the church nestled deep in the woods. Its history is well kept, as is the site. It’s open for picnics and weddings. Various churches host Sunday services in the chapel. The pines that tower over the church wrap around it like it is being protected by nature. Walking trails lead into the woods, where visitors like to bird hunt, forge mushrooms, or take in the golden hours of sunscapes.
Oftentimes, this area is referred to as God’s Country. It certainly has that feeling. The road that leads in twists and winds through the dense forest until the church steeple comes into site. The sun peaks through the trees, leaving a golden aura that stretches to the heavens. The old church bell behind the church tolls signaling another visitor has found their way into the cathedral in the pines.
Directions:
The church is located 7 miles east of Roseau on Hwy 11
- Turn right (south) on County Road 9
- Drive approx 15 1/2 miles south
- Turn left (east) drive 2 miles on County Road 19
- Turn right (south) 1 mile
- Then left (east) 2 miles on 150 St.
- Turn right (south) 1 mile
- Turn left (east) 1 mile
- You will now be on the Winner Forest Road for 2 miles, watch for the Historic Silo on your left (North) side of the road
- Drive past the Elkwood Cemetery which will be next on left side of road.
- Turn right (south) on Penturen Forest Rd. for 2 1/2 miles
- Then turn left (east) onto Summer Forest Rd.
- Follow this road to the end
