In time we hope to gather many of the
histories of the churches pictured below. But this all takes time. If you have
a history on any of the
LaPorte County Old Houses of Worship and would like
to share it with us and/or contribute photos of the same,
contact us at
laportecountyin@yahoo.com
Also
See the History of LaPorte County where many are mentioned.
Link to: Union Mills Donated Church histories
Cass Township Church Histories
Sol Gorrell Cass Township Site for LaPorte County
 Sacred Heart Catholic Wanatah - Cass Twp |
 Salem Evangelical Church AKA St. John's at - Wanatah - Cass Twp |
 Wanatah Methodist Wanatah - Cass Twp |
 Wanatah Christian Church - Cass Twp |
 Davis Wesleyan Methodist Church - - Cass Twp |
 *Sacred Heart Catholic Parish Wanatah, Indiana - - Cass Twp |
 Wilder Friend's Church Dewey Twp |
 First Evangelical Lutheran at Hanna |
 Hanna Methodist Church Hanna |
 St. John Lutheran LaCrosse - Dewey Twp |
 St. Martin of Tours La Crosse - Dewey Twp |
 LaCrosse Apostolic Chrisitan Church LaCrosse - Dewey Twp |
 Methodist Church LaCrosse - Dewey Twp |
 Bethel Presbyterian Church Union Mills |
 Tracy Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church Union Twp |
Dewey Township Churches
St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church - built circa
1860 - but original building was replaced in 1914 but burned in the early
1930's. "the Catholic Church of St. Martin's, in Schimmels, which appears to
have been a community located in Dewey township in 1907. Alerding states the
following: "Schimmels, formerly known as Schimmelsville, is situated about two
miles north of Lacrosse. In the year 1856, Mass was said for the first time in
the house of Joseph PREIS, Sr., by an old German priest, Rev. Andrew TUSCH. The
congregation was organized in 1859, by Rev. Martin SHERER, pastor at Laporte.
The present church was built by him, in 1860." The land for St. Martin's Church
was reportedly donated by Daniel CALLAHAN who relocated to Toledo, Ohio, and
Patrick and Richard HUNCHEON donated a few acres for a cemetery. The
congregation of St. Martin's was apparently served by pastors who resided in
several nearby towns, including: Laporte, San Pierre, and Wanatah. "
Ref: :
The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857--September 22--1907, A Book of Historical
Reference, 1669-1907 - Published in 1907 and this along with other catholic
churces in this county my be found on line at:
The Diocese of Forth
Wayne
Note: An Historical Atlas of LaPorte Co., Indiana, which
identified one of the land owners, in the northern tier of Dewey township, as
G. P. SCHIMMEL. G. P. SCHIMMEL held several tracts of land in sections 4 and 5
of this township. These tracts also meet the location description in Alerding's
history, being a couple of miles north of LaCrosse. Originally researched by:
Ann McRoden Mensch
Hanna Township Churches
Davis Church changed to Davis Wesleyans Church - On June 26,
1906, Elmer and Myra Tuesburg sold one acre of land on the west bank of the
Kankakee Rever in Hanna Twp for the sum of $1.00.
The first church was 24 by
50 foot frame building and was built by the William Christoph family. Will,
Orville and Albert did most of the construction. They pulled the timbers into
place with a team of horses.
It is believed that before this building was
erected, Rev. Mow organized the Davis church in about 1896. Early members of
the church include the William Christoph family, Mrs. Benjamin Bell and Shelby
Thomas, Mrs. Fita Payne Hansen; Belle James and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Arndt.
Additional footnote: - At one time the church was known as the Davis
Church. In 1864 Uncle John Davis arrived where an Indian village was located. A
small town of Davis devloped and in the 1890 census the population of Davis as
50 people. Later Fancher store, the post office and also the telegraph tower
were moved in 1898 to Hamlet, East of Hanna. All the remains of Davis is the
Davis Weslayan Church.
The first full time minister was
Rev. Harold Boyce. The church name was changed to Davis Wesleyan while Rev.
Otis was minitser because of a merger with the Pilgrim Holiness and Wesleyan
Methodist Conference.
The First Lutheran Church of Hanna - 1884- In the beginning of the church it was popularly known as the German Lutheran Church. But in 1924 the word German was dropped from the official title and there after only the English language was used in the services. Pastors since 1900 have been W. C. Heinzen 1900-03, Hugo Osterhus 1904-10, R. Truelsch 1910-14, Paul Barth 1914-22, G. Bloedel 1922-36, Theodore Bartell 1937-44, Arnold Kruster 1944-61.
Methodist Church - History sought.
Union Township Churches
Under construction
La Porte County Indiana Gen Web
Copyright 2006