A German community, built around Church

The families who founded the Windthorst community were from Cincinnati, Ohio, and were members of the German Catholic Aurora Homestead Association.

The settlement of Windthorst was named for Dr. Ludwig Windthorst, who in 1878 was the leader of the Catholic Center Party and a bitter opponent of Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor of Germany.

While Benedictine Father Ferdinand Wolf was resident pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Windthorst was listed as a "branch house" attached to St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison.

From 1878 to 1881, Father Ferdinand served the following communities in what is now the Diocese of Dodge City: Tennessee Settlement (St. Joseph’s in Ford County), Larned, Fort Dodge, Dodge City, Austrian Settlement and St. Leopold’s Colony (Olmitz), Cimarron, Sherlock (Holcomb), St. Rose of Lima, Great Bend; Kinsley, Spearville, Lakin, Brown’s Grove (Burdett).

Windthorst can be considered the mother church of Sacred Heart, Dodge City; St. John the Baptist, Spearville; and St. George, Bucklin.

By Tim Wenzl

Diocesan Archivist

WINDTHORST -- Area residents and descendants of this community filled Immaculate Heart of Mary Church as Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore celebrated Mass for the 125th anniversary of the parish on Nov. 29. He was assisted by Father Henry Hildebrandt and Deacon Dwaine Lampe, both from Spearville.

In his homily, Bishop Gilmore spoke of the towering presence of the church and its importance in the lives of those who worshipped there.

"The church was central to them. The church was so important that they never got around to building a town. The church was all there was, here in splendid isolation, and, as such, it became the Mother Church of so many others.

"I know you have tried to live that way as well, to reflect the nearness of this Temple in your daily lives. You have seen some sad signs, and have gone through some sad times.... But you have preserved the memory of this once vibrant place, you have kept faith with those who have gone before you.

"Go further now. Put on those social virtues that build up the total Catholic community. Be examples of those born of this Mother Church. Be a leaven to our extended Catholic family."

After Mass the congregation continued the anniversary celebration with a meal at St. John the Baptist Parish Hall in Spearville.

The history of Windthorst holds an important place in the history of the Diocese of Dodge City because it was a hub from which so many other Catholic communities were served.

In 1876 a group of men dissatisfied with the economic conditions in Cincinnati, Ohio, formed the German Catholic Aurora Homestead Association. They wrote Father Felix Swembergh in Newton for advice on improving their status by moving West. The priest contacted the Topeka land agent of the Santa Fe railroad who immediately traveled to Cincinnati and recommended a tract of land in Ford County.

The railroad sold the group 10 sections of land at $10 an acre and agreed to give the group 80 acres for a church, school and cemetery. Seven families and three single men arrived in February of 1878 to begin the new settlement. Many other families followed in the spring.

Bishop Louis Mary Fink of Leavenworth asked Abbot Innocent Wolf of St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison to supply a priest for "a big German settlement taking up land west of Great Bend." Abbot Innocent had no priest to send, but his older brother, Father Ferdinand Wolf, at the Archabbey in Latrobe, Penn., wanted to go West and was sent Windthorst.

Father Ferdinand arrived at Newton on May 14, 1878. There Father Swembergh acquainted him with his missions and his mission district that was 200 miles long and about 130 miles wide. This territory extended west form Great Bend to the Colorado border and south to include Camp Supply in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) and Camp Elliot in Texas.

Father Ferdinand offered the first Mass in the "Cincinnati Colony" at the home of Henry Tasset May 21, 1878. The Windthorst community immediately began making plans to construct a church.

In 1887, the year the Diocese of Wichita was established, Windthorst was one of the largest parishes outside of Wichita with 150 families. This remarkable growth at Windthorst took place without the benefit of being on a railroad line.

The community constructed a second frame church in 1892, followed by the present brick edifice in 1913. Father Joseph Bogner was pastor of the parish when Bishop John J. Hennessy dedicated the church on June 12, 1913. The church was designed in Gothic Romanesque Revival style designed by Preuss & Aimes Company of St. Louis, Mo; William Foley of Dodge City was the contractor. Stained glass windows created in the Munich studios of the St. Louis company, Emil Frei and Associates, were installed in 1916.

School for the children of the parish began in December of 1879. Classes were held in the church with kneelers serving for seats and the pews for desks. Anna Tasset taught the entire student body of 26 boys and 18 girls. The first school building was constructed in 1883, followed by another in 1913. A two-story brick building was dedicated May 23, 1928. It served as a grade school and high school until the school was closed in 1970.

Dominican Sisters taught classes at Windthorst from 1908 to 1910 and were followed by the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ who taught in the school until 1970.

The parish nurtured many religious vocations. Five young men were ordained to the priesthood and 21 young women entered the religious life in five different congregations.

The parish was closed as the result of the diocesan restructuring process in 1997. Windthorst Heritage, Inc., was established to preserve the church and the history of this German colony. The association sponsors concerts at the church during Advent and Lent. Handel’s Messiah is performed each year on Palm Sunday. Dodge City Community College also presents its Spring Concert at the church.