ST. BENEDICT CATHOLIC CHURCH

The feeling most often expressed by someone who has been a member or parishioner of a church that has closed is that the closure was almost like a death in the family.  When that church is the center of a community, those feelings run even deeper.  Such is the fate of the St. Benedict Catholic Church, nestled in fertile farmland a few miles east of Algona.

The Parish is Created

The parish itself was founded in 1877 by Father Eberhard Gahr, a native of Bavaria, who came here with the intent of establishing a Catholic Church in this locality.  He helped to settle many (mostly German) families in the area of Prairie and Irvington Townships, many of whom became faithful members of the parish.  A thriving community grew up around the church and included a bank, merchandise and drug stores, implement shops, creamery and a lumberyard.  The first church building was a small plain structure, only 20 x 36 feet.  It served the parish until 1894 when Father Anton Erdman, the pastor at the time, realized a larger church was needed.  The present church was built in Gothic style at a cost of $11,523.63 with the first Mass celebrated in the new church on Christmas morning. 

Last fall I made a trip over to St. Benedict when they had their final parish breakfast and while I was there, I couldn’t resist going into the church to look around.  It had already been announced that the church would be closing in 2017 and it seemed fitting to take some photos to document the building that had been a life line for so many people for generations.  I sat for a few moments and imagined the number of baptisms, weddings and funerals that had been celebrated in this quiet, reverent place.  I pictured the Christmas programs and first communion processions as well as the countless number of worship services that had been held there.  Holiness and history permeated every wall and surface in the structure.

Light filtered in through the stained glass windows, adding to the peacefulness of the moment.  I admired the beautiful designs and wondered how each had been chosen.  There are windows that feature saints such as Saint Joseph and St. Elizabeth and others that bear religious symbols and colorful patterns.  The St. Benedict Parish centennial book states that the many stained glass windows in the church were made from cathedral glass from Regensburg, Austria, at a total cost of $1600.  One of the interesting features is that each of the windows bear the names (in German) of the donors.  It occurred to me that day that they each represented a facet of a family genealogy preserved in this little country church.  When you dig a little deeper behind the names on the windows, you find that many of these families were related by marriage.  Let’s look at a few.

George and Joseph Ferstl

Born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, George and Joseph Ferstl arrived in Kossuth County in 1877 and both settled in Section 24 of Irvington Township.  George was married to Mary Germann and Joseph wed Caroline Faber.  They each had large families, lived the rest of their lives in the community and are buried in the St. Benedict cemetery. 

 
William Bolwerk and John Mulert

Natives of Bavaria, William Bolwerk and his wife, Adelheid, came to St. Benedict in 1878.  Their daughter, Mary, became the wife of John Mulert, also a native of Bavaria.  They came to St. Benedict two years after the Bolwerks and bought land in Sections 17 and 20 of Prairie Township.  They had six children.  Both the Bolwerks and the Mulerts are buried in the parish cemetery.

 
Martin and Joseph Rahm

Martin Rahm was another native of Bavaria.  He came to America in 1862 with his parents, settling in the Beaver Dam, Wisconsin area.  He first came to Kossuth County in 1870 to help lay tracks for the Milwaukee railroad.  He returned to Wisconsin in 1872 to marry his bride, Barbara Ferstl, and the two newlyweds came back to Kossuth County where they settled on farm located in Section 19 of Prairie Township. Of their thirteen children, only three daughters reached adulthood.  They also raised an orphan.

Joseph Rahm, Sr., Martin’s brother, arrived here in 1873.  He was married to Frances Arndorfer, also of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.  They settled in Section 18 of Prairie Township where they raised four children.  They have numerous descendants still living in Kossuth County.

Many other area names grace the windows.  Studer, Immerfall, Erdman, Schaler and Rosenmeyer are a few. 

Soon to be gone, but not forgotten

Although the church will be torn down later this year, the windows will be preserved and used in other chapels or churches not yet identified.  It is hoped that wherever they are placed, their beauty will inspire others to seek a closer relationship with God while reminding the new owners of the immigrants who came half way across the world to make a new life on the prairie and, having succeeded, built a house of worship that stood for almost 123 years.


My thanks to the authors of the St. Benedict Parish 1877-1977 centennial book for preserving the history and memories of not only the parish but the community as well.

Until next time,

Kossuth County History Buff

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