Backyard Adventures

BACKYARD ADVENTURES 2016 PIKE PUBLISHING 37 ST. FERDINAND CATHOLIC CHURCH (CIRCA 1845) Ferdinand Fr. Joseph Kundek invited Ger- man Catholics from the Pitts- burgh, Cincinnati and Louisville areas to settle in the new town of Ferdinand. Many had seen adver- tisements published in 1840 in Der Wahreheitsfreund, a German- language Catholic weekly. The advertisement read: "The German Catholic congre- gation in Jasper, Dubois County, Indiana, has laid out a new town with the name 'Ferdinand' twelve miles south of Jasper on the Troy Road, about eighteen miles from the Ohio. In the middle of the town there is a Catholic church; in the neighborhood of the town there are about forty farmers, and more than 120 sections of Congress land - The region is healthful, the soil fertile. A German Catholic priest is appointed for it as soon as the congregation increases." The first people to come expected to find cabins set up. Instead, they found clapboard nailed to a big oak tree with the name "Ferdinand" burned into the shingle. Plans for the town existed only on paper. Some of the settlers continued on to Evansville, but others de- cided to help build the town of Fr. Kundek's dreams. Philip Wagner bought the first plot of land from Fr. Kundek, just south of the town limits. He built a two-story log house there, and it was here that Fr. Kundek celebrated the first Holy Mass in Ferdinand on April 22, 1840. The first log church was built in the Fall of 1840. In 1842, a more spacious log church was built to accommodate the fifty families that had settled in Ferdinand. The original church was remodeled to serve as a school and rectory. By 1844, the expanding congrega- tion had outgrown the second log church as well and Fr. Kundek made plans for a larger and more permanent church of stone. The cornerstone of this church was laid on July 25, 1845, and the building was completed in 1848. ST. RAPHAEL (CIRCA 1899) Dubois Before 1899, the German- Catholics who lived in Dubois had to travel five miles on dirt roads to their Parish Church at Celestine. Many made the journey by horse, buggy or wagon, but many walked. On Sunday, Sept. 17, 1899, Fr. Bilger announced that he was calling a meeting the following Sunday for all who were interested in having a church built. On July 4, 1902, Rev. E.J. Zirkel- bach became the first resident pastor and within three years, the parish had a membership of more than 400. Cemetery lots were laid out and sold. The little frame church was completely destroyed by fire on Christmas Day 1917. Work on the present St. Raphael Church began on July 8, 1936, and the cornerstone was laid in September by Fr. Basil of Jasper. Most of the brick, the large rosette window, the six stained glass win- dows depicting the mysteries of the rosary and the six onyx candle- stick holders came from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in West Baden Springs that had been severely damaged by fire in 1901. All the labor to dismantle and deliver this material from West Baden to Dubois was donated by the parishioners. ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA (CIRCA 1864) St. Anthony St. Anthony Parish was founded on May 23, 1864, by Rev. Joseph Meister, O.S.B. Originally, this scenic town and its parish were called St. Joseph's. In September of 1865, the names of both were changed to St. Anthony. The present sandstone church was started in 1881. While the church was being built, parishioners from St. Anthony walked six miles to the nearest mass in Celestine. On December 20, 1885, a dedication of their new church was led by Rev. Cyrin Thomas, O.S.B. St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church belongs in a cluster parish with Sacred Heart of Jesus, located in Schellville. ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, (CIRCA 1890) Ireland The original congregation for this church was first established in 1890, when former St. Joseph's parish members concluded that a parish should be established in Ireland. On August 15, 1904, the Right Reverend Athanasius Schmitt, Abbot of St. Meinrad, laid the cornerstone for the brick structure that still stands today. The church was completed in time for Christmas mass held in 1905. This historic church is in danger of being demolished. ST. HENRY PARISH (CIRCA 1863) St. Henry St. Henry was founded in 1862 by Fr. Chrysostom Foffia, O.S.B, and Pastor of Ferdinand. The par- ish was named St. Henry in honor of Abbot Henry of Einsiedein Ab- bey, Switzerland. The first church was built in 1863. Parish growth led to the construction of a new building in 1910. The church was dedicated July 16, 1911. Parish- ioners moved into the present church in 1912. In 1934, the Huntingburg Power and Line was extended to St. Henry, and replaced coal and oil lamps. In later years, updates were done to the interior and exterior of the church. SALEM UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST (CIRCA 1890) Huntingburg This church was originally established in 1842 by a group of German immigrants. The third and final building that stands today was built in 1889 and highlights Victorian Gothic architecture and a unique second-floor sanctu- ary. In addition to its history, the church appeared in the movie "Hard Rain." SACRED HEART (CIRCA 1873) Schnellville Schnellville was founded by a German named Henry Schnell from Hesse, Germany. He moved to Dubois County after purchas- ing 40 acres of land. He sold the land a few years later and moved to Louisville. A fter three years, he returned to Dubois County and bought a farm and kept a country store. He sold that farm one year later and bought another. Henry's dream came true after he found a plot of land that he would develop into a town. On November 27, 1865, the town of Schnellville was platted. A group of men went to visit Bishop St. Palais while he was con- firming children in Jasper. They went to see him about a petition for starting a new parish in their own town of Schnellville. On November 10, 1873, Sacred Heart Parish was formed. The church had a frame of 40 -foot by 60 -foot. The cupola in the front of the church was built to a height of 65 feet above the ground. The total cost would be $1,600 and it was completed on November 1, 1874. On April 24, 1898, all records and personal property were com- pletely destroyed by fire. The cur- rent priest, Father John Schueth, visited all the families of the parish to get to know them and ask for donations to build a new church. He petitioned the request for a new church to the Bishop and received a quick reply granting permission. The members of the community volunteered in the construction of the new church. It took a total of 25 months and was completed on October 24, 1916. Schnellville also built a school in 1903 to replace the old two-room school building. Most of the teach- ers there were the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand. DAVIES COUNTY OLD UNION CHURCH AND CEMETERY - 1858 County Road 1125 SE, rural Daviess County Old Union Church and Cem- etery is an historic church and cemetery located in Reeve Town- ship, Daviess County, Ind., near Alfordsville. The church was built in 1858 by Hilary Sea. It's a one- story, Greek Revival-style frame building sheathed in clapboard with a gable roof. A projecting entrance tower was added to the church circa 1900. The adjacent cemetery contains about one thousand burial plots; the earli- est marked burial was in 1823. A shelter house and privy are also on the five-acre church lot. Old Union Church and Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - 1814 110 NE Second Street, Washington Westminster Presbyterian be- gan its life in 1814 as a log-walled, dirt-floored meeting lodge for local faithful, before Daviess County or even the State of Indiana were es- tablished. The church, now housed in a building that dates back to 1911, celebrated its bicentennial this year. Music has always been a vital part of Westminster's worship ceremonies: a melodeon was used in the church as early as 1850, and the congregation bought a pipe organ in 1896. That organ was replaced with an Austin pipe organ in 1917, and the Austin was replaced with a $100,000 custom- made Bunn-Minnick pipe organ in 1987, with some of the ranks from the Austin joining the ranks of the Bunn-Minnick. ST. JOSEPH CHURCH (CIRCA 1837) JASPER Saint Joseph Parish was founded in 1837 by missionary priest, Father Joseph Kundek, from Croatia. Father Kundek applied his abundant energy and dedication to building up the community of 39 families. In 1841, he built the new brick church in Jasper. During 1844, he founded the parishes in Ferdinand, Fulda, Celestine and Rockport. In 1845, he built the Dubois County Courthouse. During 1854, he over- saw the coming of the Benedictine Monks from Einsiedeln, Switzer- land, to found Saint Meinrad Abbey. The first church of the parish was a small log cabin with 39 families. Three years later, the congregation consisted of nearly 100 families and had outgrown the original facility. A new brick church was begun in 1840. The building was under roof and used for the first time on December 8, 1841. The brick church, small in comparison to the present one, was 100 feet long and 54 feet wide. The present church is the prod- uct of the almost singlehanded effort exerted by the fourth pastor, Father Fidelis Maute, O.S.B. Father Fidelis served as archi- tect, contractor, foreman, laborer, fundraiser and pastor to the new church. All the building materials and labor for the building were provided by the parishioners. The foundation was begun in 1867, and the cornerstone blessed and laid in 1868 by the first missionary to Jasper, Bishop de St. Palais. The church was completed and blessed in 1880 and consecrated in 1888. The cost of the original construc- tion was $ 80,000. DUBOIS COUNTY CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 See Backyard Adventures in FULL COLOR! pressdispatch.net/ba2016

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