The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1224, but that was not the year of construction. The first church in Grue was a wooden
stave church that was likely built during the 12th century. This church stood roughly to the north of the present church site, but the exact site of the old church is not known. Very little is known about the original look of this building. During the Catholic era, the church was dedicated to
John the Baptist. In 1609 (the year on the wind vane in the spire), the church was renovated and enlarged. It is likely that this is the time when two
transept wings were added that gave the church a
cruciform floor plan. It is likely that the church was rebuilt and renovated in stages so that by the 1700s, very little of the original church building remained. The church, like most other churches in Norway, was sold during the
Norwegian church auction in 1723 to help the King pay off war debts. It (together with
Brandval Church) was bought by Captain Adolph Carl Helm and Colbjørn Olsen Stemsrud. The new owners sold the church to the local people the same year. The church was said to be in very poor condition at this time, and in the purchase agreement, the church was required to be repaired soon after the purchase. The local villagers began the repairs in 1727. More interior work was also carried out in 1732. In 1739, the church was inspected and the inspection report described the church in detail. At that time, it was a
cruciform church. The church had a tower above the centre of the
nave. There was a bell tower over the
church porch on the west cross-arm and a
sacristy outside the northern cross-arm. The church had exterior open-air corridors along the west and south sides of the building. The nine windows were all located high up on the wall and had small, leaded panes with iron bars. In 1814, this church served as an
election church (). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814
Norwegian Constituent Assembly which wrote the
Constitution of Norway. This was Norway's first national elections. Each
church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet at
Eidsvoll Manor later that year. In 1817, the Bishop visited the church and agreed that the church site needed to be moved due to the river (and at this point, the church was in terrible condition from a lack of maintenance). On 26 May 1822 (
Pentecost Sunday), the church burned in what is now known as the
Grue Church fire, in which at least 113 people died. The fire was possibly the result of sparks from an old incense burner that was used to collect embers for the altar candles. In 1864, the church was renovated to correct some weaknesses in the structure as well as to improve the heating system. The entire roof structure was also changed during this project. In 1873-1875, the interior of the church was redone, in particular, a new
altarpiece and
pulpit were installed. During the 1870s, many families from the Grue Church parish in Norway, left and emigrated to the
United States. Many of these people formed at least two new congregations - both of which were named to honor their home church back in Norway. The "Grue Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church" was built in rural
Buxton, North Dakota and "Grue Lutheran Church" was built in rural
Ashby, Minnesota. ==Media gallery==