ARGYLE, Wis. — For nearly two years, the place where Apple Grove Lutheran Church once stood offered a painful reminder of what had been lost.

The historic rural church, built in 1893, was destroyed by a tornado June 22, 2024. Its sanctuary disappeared in a matter of moments, leaving little more than scattered debris, a damaged foundation and generations of memories tied to a building that had served farm families outside Argyle for more than a century.

Today, a new structure is rising in almost the exact same place.

Its walls and roof trusses now outline the shape of a church once again, offering the congregation and surrounding community something they have waited a long time to see: a visible sign that Apple Grove is coming back.