USA > Indiana > History of the Catholic church in Indiana, Volume I > Part 44
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DYER, LAKE COUNTY.
This is one of the favored district schools in which only Cath- olic children attend and Catholic teachers are employed, and salaries are paid from the public-school fund of Lake county. The chil- dren attend daily mass and the pastor is at perfect liberty to teach catechism and Bible history. Still both pastor and people regret very much that present circumstances do not justify the starting of a parochial school. The school is taught by a Franciscan Sister, (494)
IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
and a male lay teacher who has charge of the higher grades. The school numbers eighty attendants.
EARL PARK, BENTON COUNTY.
St. Anthony's School is a one-story frame house, built in 1869, by Michael Sickel, at a cost of $400. The first teacher employed was Joseph Riesel, who was succeeded by Miss Carrie Dehner, Joseph Dehner, Henry Boers, Miss Susan Theno and seven other teachers, the present one being Miss Maggie Higgins. In 1875 Anthony Dehner, the oldest settler and the pioneer of this section, built to the school-house an addition of twenty feet, thus increas- ing its dimensions to 24 x 48 feet, not including a hall, 8 x 10 feet, used for the children's wraps. The present enrolment is twenty- eight boys and thirty-seven girls.
The average annual outlay for the school is $500, most of which amount is paid by the state, the school being a district school, free to all who attend. During the summer a special term is held and pupils attending it are charged $1 per month. The average expense of the school, per pupil, is $16. The present value of the school ground is $100 and of the school-building, with appurtenances, about $700. The present reverend director of the school is Rev. P. J. Weber.
EGE, NOBLE COUNTY.
St. Mary's School. - The little frame building that served as the first Catholic school in Ege owes its origin to Mr. Girardot, a pious pioneer settler, who, in 1863, built it to serve as a church for the few Catholics then living in the vicinity. Ege at that date was a mission which was visited at stated times by the Rev. Father Shaefer. In 1875 it became necessary to build a larger church to accommodate the increased number of Catholics in the settlement; then the little frame church was converted into a home for the first resident priest, Rev. F. X. Ege.
In 1883 this worthy priest opened a school, and for this end he gave one room of his own residence to be used as a school- room until the congregation should be able to build a school-house. In February, 1886, this building was destroyed by fire, but the
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school was not interrupted, for an adjacent store was at once rented and in it school was continued until December of the same year, when the present fine school-house was ready for occupancy. This building is a two-story brick, 40x 30 feet, and contains two class-rooms, each having a seating capacity for seventy children. At present, however, one room supplies all the school accommo- dation required, and forty-five pupils are taught by two Sisters of St. Francis. The average annual outlay for the support of the school is about $210, derived from pew rent, as the school is free to all the children of the parish. The annual expense per pupil is $3.23. At present the value of the school ground, including four acres surrounding the building, is $100. The value of the school- building and the Sisters' residence, which is attached, is about $2,400. Rev. F. Faust is the present reverend director of the school.
ELKHART, ELKHART COUNTY.
St. Vincent's School, at Elkhart, Ind., consists of one brick building, 28x71 feet, and a frame, 25 x 33 feet. The former was originally used as a church; but in 1888, upon the completion of the new church, it was remodeled into a school and the frame building was erected to furnish further accommodations for the pupils. These two buildings, each one-story in height, give four school-rooms, with a seating capacity for 177 children. The original cost of the brick structure was $2,400, and of the frame structure $500.
The first school-house in the parish owes its beginning to Very Rev. A. B. Oechtering, who, in 1881, changed the old church into school-rooms, at a cost of $1,800. The school from its founda- tion has been in charge of Sisters of the Holy Cross. At present there are three of these Sisters engaged in the class-rooms and the attendance at the school numbers sixty-nine boys and sixty-four girls. The present value of the school ground is $5,000, and the school and its appurtenances $3,000, and of the teachers' resi- dence, $1,800. The revenue for the support of the school is derived from tuition fees paid by the pupils and about one-half from the church funds. The average annual expense for each
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ST. AUGUSTINE ACADEMY, FORT WAYNE, IND.
IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
pupil is $7.50. The present reverend director is Rev. Henry A. Boeckelmann.
ELWOOD, MADISON COUNTY.
St. Joseph's School was erected in 1892, by Rev. B. Biegel, at a cost of $600. It is a one-room, frame structure, 26 x 36 feet, and has a seating capacity for 100, but as the present attendance, 223 pupils, overcrowds the room, the intention of the reverend pastor is to convert the old church into a school-house as soon as a new church can be erected. Owing to this want of school room, children are obliged to leave the school when they have made their first holy communion, a fact greatly to be regretted. The present teachers are three Sisters of St. Joseph. The annual out- lay for the school, including the teachers' salary, is $350, which amount is derived from tuition fees, of fifty cents, $1.25 and $1.50 from each family, according to the number of children edu- cated from it. The average annual expense per pupil is $3.10. The present value of the school ground, including play-ground, is $500, and of the school-building with its appurtenances, $700. The present reverend director of the school is Rev. B. Biegel.
FORT WAYNE, ALLEN COUNTY.
St. Augustine's School for Girls, Fort Wayne, was opened in 1845 on the very site which it occupies at the present day, forty- five feet north of the cathedral. It is the oldest parochial school in the diocese of Fort Wayne and owes its origin to the zealous missionary, Mgr. J. Benoit, late vicar-general of the diocese.
As early as 1844 the first Catholic school was built in Fort Wayne by Contractor John Burt, who received in exchange three acres of land north of the present city, from Rev. S. T. Badin. In the year following Mgr. Benoit, then resident priest in Fort Wayne, with a parish extending into several of the surrounding counties, invited the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary's of the Woods to take control of the school. In the fall of that year the school opened with Sisters M. Magdalen, Caroline and Catherine as teachers.
The first school-house was what is now the central part of the convent, fronting Calhoun street. In it the Sisters taught during
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five years; but long before that time had elapsed the rooms were overcrowded. In 1850 a one-story brick school-house, containing three rooms, was built a few rods to the east on Jefferson street. This served as an English and German school for girls until 1853, when the German children were removed to their own school on Lafayette street. Even after their departure, the school-house was too small to accommodate the number of English-speaking children that sought instruction in St. Augustine's school, so that the build- ing was torn down in 1867 to give r om for a wing that was added to the main building, at a cost of over $18,000. This wing, still in use, is more than three stories high and consists of six rooms and a basement.
In 1883, more room being needed, another wing was built south of the main building, running east, at a cost of nearly $20,000. This second addition completed the accommodations required in the school, which can now comfortably seat 350 chil- dren. It contains the high-school class-rooms, art and music departments, and apartments for boarding pupils. The course of study pursued give a thorough English education, and is combined with a commercial course for girls who wish to prepare themselves for active work as amanuenses or bookkeepers. The present enrolment of pupils is 370. Eighteen Sisters are employed as teachers in all departments. The annual average outlay for keep- ing the premises in order is about $300. This amount, and that which is required for the maintenance of the teachers, is derived from tuition fees paid by the pupils who can afford to contribute. The charges vary from twenty-five cents to $2 a month, according to the grade in which the pupil is. The average expense per pupil is about $5 a year. The present value of the school ground, incl .. ding the large play-ground, is about $75,000. The value of the building, which has a frontage of eighty-six feet with two extensions, each 112 x 30 feet, is $65,000, including its appurte- nances. The present reverend direc or of the school is Rev. Fred Dandurand.
The Cathedral School for Boys, Fort Wayne, Allen county, Ind., dates its origin back to 1848, when Right Rev. Mgr. J. Benoit (500)
IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
opened a school for boys in a frame building, erected at a cost of several thousand dollars, and A. Walters was placed in charge. In 1858 three Brothers of the Holy Cross assumed control of the school and taught in the frame building until 1862, when the new brick school-house was ready for occupancy. This edifice was erected also by Father Benoit. The original cost of this structure, including the ground upon which it stands, was $10,000. It is a solid brick building, 45 x 60 feet, and contains seven school-rooms, which afford a total seating capacity for 375 boys, but at present 245 only attend, under the control of seven Brothers of the Holy Cross. In 1884 the course of studies hitherto pursued in the school was extended to embrace a commercial department, in which is given a thorough training in bookkeeping, phonography and type- writing. From this department were graduated many of the most successful business men of Fort Wayne. The average annual out- lay for the support of this school is $2, 500, which amount is derived from tuition fees varying from seventy-five cents to $2 a month and from the revenue of the church. The average annual expense per pupil is about $7. 50. The present value of the corner on which the school stands is $30,000, and the value of the school-building with its appurtenances is about $50,000. The house occupied by the Brothers, which also belongs to the congregation, is worth about $3,000. Rev. John Durham is the present reverend director of the school.
St. Mary's School. - The first school in St. Mary's parish, Fort Wayne, was a small frame building erected in 1853, by Rev. E. Faller, at a cost of $400, on the very site which St. Mary's church now occupies. It was destined as a school for the boys of the parish, and served this purpose until 1862, when the present boys' school was built at a cost of $10,000. This school has a frontage on Lafayette street of seventy feet, and a depth of forty feet along Jefferson street. It is a two-story brick structure, con- taining three school-rooms on the first floor, and a hall 70 x 40 feet on the second floor. The first teachers of the boys' school were Mr. Ohnhaus and Mr. Geiger.
In the year that saw the opening of the boys' school the girls
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of the parish, who had been attending St. Augustine's since 1845, were removed to their own school in the brick building on Lafay- ette street. This structure served the double purpose of church and the lower floor as a girls' school and Sisters' house. The pos- sible cost of this building was $3,000. The first teachers in the girls' school were three Sisters of Providence. In 1859, upon the completion of the new church, the whole building was changed into a school-house, and in 1878 an addition was made to it; but in 1891 the entire edifice was torn down to make room for the present magnificent school-house and convent erected by Rev. J. H. Oechtering at a cost of $20,000.
In August, 1865, the management of the girls' school passed into the hands of three School Sisters of Notre Dame, from Mil- waukee. In 1879 a fourth Sister took charge of the smallest boys, and in 1880 two more sisters came to teach the intermediate classes of boys. At present nine of these religiouses are engaged in the schools. The total enrolment of pupils is 521; of this number 283 are boys. The new school-house, finished in 1891, fronts Lafayette street, and measures 75 x65 feet, with a convent at- tached, 55 x40 feet. This building contains five large school- rooms. It is admirably planned as to ventilation, heating and con- venience, is elegantly finished and so complete in its arrangements that it lacks nothing that a perfectly equipped school needs for its classes. The play grounds are spacious and sufficiently retired from the street to permit such games as promote healthful action of mind and body. Most of the children attending school live in the immediate vicinity, but a few come from a distance of two miles. After first holy communion an average of twenty of the first communicants continue in school.
The annual outlay for the school is $1,900, which amount is derived from three sources-$1, 500 from the School society, $200 tuition fees from children whose parents are not members of the society, and the balance from church funds. The average annual expense for each pupil is about $4.
The present value of the ground used for school purposes is $17,000; the combined value of the school-buildings, with their
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furniture, is $21,000, and the value of the Sisters' dwelling is $10, - 500. The present director is Rev. J. H. Oechtering.
St. Patrick's School. - The first school established in St. Patrick's parish, Fort Wayne, was opened by two Sisters of Prov- idence, in 1886, on South Calhoun street, in the Bond building, rented for that purpose by Very Rev. J. H. Brammer, V. G. The opening enrolment was seventy boys and twenty girls, but before three years had elapsed it was necessary to seek a larger building for the accommodation of the greatly increased number of pupils attending the school. To meet this demand a two-story frame building, on Fairfield avenue, was purchased, in 1888, by Rev. T. M. O'Leary, then director, and remodeled into a school-house consisting of four school-rooms, two for boys and two for girls. Here the school was taught until 1891, when it was removed to the present handsome school-house, on the corner of De Wald and Webster streets. This building was erected by the present pastor of St. Patrick's congregation, Rev. J. F. Delaney, at a cost of $12,000. It is a brick structure, with Sisters' dwelling annexed, and is located eighty feet west of the church to the rear. It is 80 x 60 feet fronting Webster street, is two and one-half stories high, and contains eight class-rooms, four on each floor, with a seating capacity of 480 children.
The building is thoroughly ventilated and well-lighted, while the school-rooms are provided with everything necessary for the use of teachers and pupils. The present enrolment is 440, of whom 226 are boys. At present there are eleven teachers, Sisters of Providence, whose salary is dependent upon what they collect from the pupils. The tuition fees are seventy-five cents a month from those who are able to pay. Poor children are received free of charge. The expense incurred for keeping the building in repair, fuel and water supply, is defrayed by the congregation. The estimated expenditure of the school, including what may be termed the teachers' salaries, is $2, 500 a year. The present value of the school ground, including play-ground, is $8,000. The value of the school-building, with appurtenances, is $13,000, and the value of the teachers' residence, erected by the congregation, is
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$4,000. The school is considered the finest in the city, being handsomely frescoed and in every way convenient, and the sanitary condition perfect.
St. Paul's School. - This school was established in 1866 under the direction of Rev. E. Koenig, in a small frame building near the site of the present school-house. The first enrolment of pupils was fifty-six, but the number increased from month to month, and it became necessary, in 1868, to build a new school- house. This two-story brick building, situated on the corner of Washington and Griffith streets, gave two large rooms, which with another room provided by the old parochial residence in 1880 accommodated the pupils until 1886, when the old church was remodeled into a school-house of two rooms. At present these two buildings are in use for school purposes and have a total seat- ing capacity for 250 children. The brick building is 40 x 50 feet, and the frame structure is 75 x 37 feet. Both buildings front on Griffith street; they are cheerful, well ventilated, and amply fur- nished with everything that is necessary for a good school. While a f w of the pupils attend from a distance of three miles in the country, most of them live in the vicinity, and remain in school after first holy communion until the close of that term.
At present 110 boys and 100 girls are in regular attendance. Three Sisters, Poor Handmaids of Christ, teach the girls and the small boys; John Hauck teaches the older boys. These teachers were preceded in the school by Peter Mettler, Ferdinand Buehler and Miss Clementine Koenig, who were successively in charge of the little ones of St. Paul's parish.
The original cost of the brick building was $4,000, and the cost of remodeling the old pastoral residence, used for a time as a school, and the fitting up of the old church, summed another $4,000, making a total original expenditure on the school-building of $8,000.
The present average annual outlay for the maintenance of the school is $1,050, of which amount $900 are derived from member- ship fees of the School society; the remainder is taken from the church funds. The average annual expense per pupil is $6.
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At present the value of the school ground, including the play ground, is $5,000, and the combined value of the school-buildings is about $7,000. The value of the house occupied by the teacher is $500.
Rev. E. Koenig, who had charge of St. Paul's congregation from December, 1865, died on January 22, 1898. On February 7 the present rector, Rev. H. F. Joseph Kroll, was appointed by the right reverend bishop and since February 23d has had charge of the congregation.
St. Peter's School. - The first school-house erected in St. Peter's parish was put up by Rev. John Wemhoff, in 1872, at a cost of $8,000. It was first taught by Mr. Rose, who was suc- ceeded by two other lay teachers until 1881, when it was placed in charge of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, from Milwaukee, Wis., as noted in the church history.
The building is a two-story brick structure, 40 x 80 feet, on Martin street, seventy-five feet east of the church, to the rear, with main entrance on the north side. It contains six school- rooms, which afford a total seating capacity for 355 children. The rooms are airy, comfortable, and well furnished with school necessaries. The upper story of the building is thrown into one large hall, 40x80 feet, which is used for sodality and other parochial ass mblies. The present enrolment of pupils is 355; the boys number 185 and the girls 170. Six Sisters of Notre Dame are now employed as teachers, and the school continues to improve from year to year under their management. After first holy communion, such pupils are retained in St. Peter's school as wish to continue their studies, and are advanced in all the princi- pal branches of the high-school course. Most of the pupils live in the vicinity, but a few have their homes at a distance of one to three miles from the school.
The average annual outlay for the school is about $1, 500. This amount is generally derived from fees of St. Joseph's School society, established for that end. The monthly membership fee is sixty-five cents, but that of widows twenty-five cents only. The children of parents paying sixty-five cents enjoy the privilege of a
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free school, but children whose parents are not members of the society pay $1 per month tuition fee.
The present value of the school ground, including a spacious play-ground, is $5,000. The value of the school-building, with appurtenances, is $10,000; and the value of the Sisters' dwelling- house is $5,000. The present director is Rev. F. Koerdt, who has formed a building association for the purpose of collecting funds with which to erect a more commodious school-house, with halls and club-rooms, the cost of which will probably approximate $35,000.
FOWLER, BENTON COUNTY.
Sacred Heart School was erected in 1891, at a cost of $1,200, by Rev. A. Henneberger. It is a two-story frame building, 26 x 32 feet, and serves the double purpose of school and dwelling for the three Franciscan Sisters, from LaFayette, who are in charge of the school, which was opened in September, 1891, by Sister Luit- gera, with an enrolment of sixty pupils. The number of children continued to increase so rapidly that another room had to be pro- vided within two months after the opening of the school. To meet this demand the one large room was divided by a partition, still the school is overcrowded, for its seating capacity is sixty, while the average attendance is thirty-five boys and thirty girls. The school is free to the greater number of the pupils; some pay fifty cents a month tuition fee, but the amount collected from them does not exceed $150 per annum. The average expense of each pupil for the year is about $7. The ground attached to the school is two acres, and is valued at $500, while the school and its furniture may be valued at $1, 500. The present reverend director of the school is Rev. H. A. Hellhake.
GARRETT, DEKALB COUNTY.
St. Joseph's School .- In 1880 the present pastor of St. Jo- seph's church, Rev. A. Young, built the first Catholic school in the parish. It is a handsome brick structure, 30 x 50 feet, and con- tains four rooms, with a seating capacity for 240 children. At present 177 pupils attend the school, and are in charge of four
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teachers, Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, whose residence, erected for them by the congregation at a cost of $800, is on the same lot as the school.
The school is supported from funds raised by the monthly contributions of the School society. Children whose parents are members of this society enjoy the advantages of the school with- out additional cost of tuition; other children are required to pay, if able, from fifty cents to $1 per month. The annual expenditure for the school, including teachers' salary, is $750 a year, which comes to about $4.75 per pupil. The original cost of the school- building was $6,000; its present value, including its appurtenances, is $10,000, and the value of the ground upon which it stands is $8,000. The present reverend director of the school is Rev. A. Young.
GOSHEN, ELKHART COUNTY.
St. John's School. - The first Catholic school in Goshen was erected in 1867, by Rev. Henry Meissner, at a cost of $550. Until the year 1881, it was taught successively by Mr. Duehmig, brother of the Rev. D. Duehmig, Mr. Laly, Mr. Wagner, Mr. Tid- ner and Miss Catherine Smith.
In 1881 the present school-house was erected at a cost of $1, 100. It is 30x 40 feet, one and a half stories high, and con- tains two class-rooms, which have a seating capacity for 130 chil- dren. The present attendance, however, does not exceed fifty pupils. Sisters of the Holy Cross have been in charge of the school since the erection of the new building in 1881, and at pres- ent three Sisters are engaged in the school-rooms.
The average annual outlay for the school, including the sal- ary of the teachers, is $450. Of this amount $400 were paid as salary until last year, when the Sisters received but $300. The sources of income for the school are three: Tuition fee, at fifty cents a month; collections and socials held for the purpose, and membership fees of St. Joseph's society, organized on November 13, 1892. The average expense per pupil is about eight dollars a year. The present value of the school ground, including play ground is $800, and of the school-building, with appurtenances, .
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$1,300. The Sisters occupy the house formerly used as a paro- chial residence, and Rev. S. M. Yenn is the present reverend director of the school.
HAMMOND, LAKE COUNTY.
St. Joseph's School .- The first school-house erected in this parish was put up by the present pastor, the Rev. H. M. Plaster, in 1885, at a cost of $600. In 1888 this structure was replaced by a fine brick building, which cost $11,000. Its dimensions are 50 x 100 feet; it is two stories high, and contains an assembly hall 20 x 50 feet and five school-rooms, which have a seating capacity for 307 chil Jren.
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