German farmers began settling in this region in the 1880s and for many years worshiped in the schoolhouse. Gerald post office opened in 1888, and by 1900 the town had a blacksmith shop, general store, drugstore, and cotton gin. That year 16 men organized St. Paul's Evangelical Congregation. Chris Schuetz provided two acres in 1903 for a church that stood on this site until 1937, when the present structure was built. After the International & Great Northern Railroad bypassed Gerald in 1901, the town soon declined. The church still serves a large rural area and marks the former townsite.