The historical roots of the original members of First Wellsburg Christian Reformed Church can be traced to Ostfriesland in Germany.
In the eighteen hundreds people in Europe were hearing glowing reports of rich soil in America. Soon they came by the thousands, including the Friesians, to this new land where many settled in the counties of Grundy and Hardin.
Life was rugged and difficult for these settlers and their vision of having a place of worship went unfulfilled for a long time. God finally sent a young student, Ede Meinders, from the Presbyterian Theological School in Dubuque to lead the services. It was upon his recommendation and leadership that this group became part of the new denomination which was only ten years old, Christian Reformed.
Meeting in a schoolhouse, they became The True Dutch Reformed Church of Steamboat Rock, later changed after Wellsburg became a town.