Kandiyohi County's first church once stood near here in an abandoned log cabin, where the first congregation gathered in 1859 for services. Called New Sweden and later known as the Lebanon Lutheran Church of New London, the congregation was served by Andrew Jackson as pastor from 1861 to 1865. During his tenure, tragedy struck on August 20, 1862, when settlers belonging to his congregation faced grave danger in the U.S.-Dakota Conflict. Two of Jackson's services were interrupted by warnings of violence and news of death, and when word came of what became known as the West Lake Massacre, he disregarded personal safety and rode to warn his parishioners of impending attacks. Twenty members of the New Sweden congregation were killed in the conflict, and many surviving settlers left the township of New London and never returned. The remaining congregation continued using the old log cabin until 1866. The U.S.-Dakota Conflict, which began when the Dakota hoped to regain lands for their starving families, was one of the saddest events in local and state history, and many settlers and Dakota were tragically killed in what is now Kandiyohi County.