One bright afternoon of a day in June
1857, I first set foot in old Bradford, Iowa,
coming by stage from McGregor. My home was in
Wisconsin. The spot where the “Little Brown
Church” now stands was a setting of rare
beauty. There was no church there but the
spot was there waiting for it. When back in
my home I wrote the song ’The Little Brown
Church in the Vale.’ I put the manuscript
away. In the spring of 1862 I returned to Iowa
and settled at Fredericksburg… In the years
of 1859 and 1860 the good people of Bradford
were determined to build a church… By the
early winter of 1864 the building was ready for
dedication. While I was holding the singing
school, near its close in the spring, the class
went one evening to the church. It was not
then seated, but rude seats were
improvised. My manuscript of the song I had
brought with me from Wisconsin. It had never
been sung before by anyone but myself. I sang it
there. Soon afterwards I took the manuscript
to Chicago, where it was published by H. M.
Higgins. It won a speedy recognition locally
and with the years won its way into the hearts
of the people of the world. Soon after its
publication the church at Bradford, which had
been painted brown (for want of money to buy
better paint, some say), became known as “The
Little Brown Church in the Vale.” My hope is
that it will stand for a thousand years and call
the old man and his descendants to
worship.
Dr. William S. Pitts (1830-1918)
was born in Orleans County, New York. As a
young man, he taught school in rural Rock
County, Wisconsin. He later became a doctor,
and practiced in Fredericksburg, Iowa, for over
40 years. He is buried in the Rose Hill
Cemetery in Fredericksburg.
