First Lutheran Church

1114 West Traverse Road
St. Peter, MN 56082

(See additional entries for earlier Moller organ and a later Hendrickson, Op. 45.)
Builder: Hendrickson Organ Co., Op. 2, 1965.
Manuals: 2
Ranks: 8
Action: Electro-mechanical

Notes: Hendrickson Opus 2 served the congregation for 13 years. It was cobbled together quickly and was rented to the church. Included were some pipes from the old chapel organ at Bethany College in Mankato that had been next to a student still which exploded. These pipes still showed green spots.

Op. 2 was moved to Grace Lutheran, Spirit Lake, IA in 1976, when Hendrickson built their Opus 45, 1978 (for First Lutheran, St. Peter, MN).

Organ Historical Society as of 2020.

I was organist here for a number of years. To the best of my memory, these are the ranks:

16' Principal (16', 8')
4' Octave (4')
16' Subbass/Rohrflute (16', 8', 4', 2.2/3' 2')
2' Fifteenth (2' from Mixture)
Mixture II
8' Salicional (8')
8' Schwebung TC (8')
8' Trumpet


The remarkable acoustics of First Lutheran so amplified the organ that the music program was able to do many remarkable things and the organ was able to lead a large congregation. Note in the photo that there is a lot of daylight from the sides. The clerestory stained glass on the east and west sides was added several years later, darkening the room as seen in pictures of Opus 45.
-- David Engen