History of Fairview

It all started when…

In the early 1930’s many Mennonites in the Kalona area were meeting weekly at the Upper Deer Creek Mennonite Church, which is located about 7 miles west of what is now the Kalona Creamery on Highway 1. This included the Mennonite community in the Sharon Center area who had to travel 10 miles or more for church on Sunday. Many of them still traveled in horse-drawn carriages at this time, and those who did drive cars were forced to navigate dirt roads that could be muddy in the Spring and snow-covered in the Winter, making the trip to church an adventure! On top of that, Upper Deer Creek was bursting at the seams!

And so, it was decided to build a new church in the Sharon Center community. This would serve to free up some space at Upper Deer Creek and also make a more accessible place of worship for the Mennonites who lived in Sharon Center. The new church would be called Fairview Conservative Mennonite Church and it started as a white, wood framed building on a country crossroad.

Early one winter morning in 1986, something terrible happened. A problem with the furnace caused a fire that quickly became a roaring inferno. Despite the best efforts of fire crews and church members, the building was engulfed in flames and came crashing down. It was a complete loss.

But the church at Fairview quickly rallied. With help from the community, unity among the Believers, and a will to work, plans for a new building were formed. This new building would be large enough to worship in, but also have adequate facilities to serve the community. in 1987, the first worship service was held in a new, modern brick building. And when you come to visit, you will find us still worshiping in this building.