Willmont, St. John's Parish

The first service was held on Nov. 8, 1904, at John Ludwig's house on the N.E. 4-39-24 west of the 2nd meridian.

Thereafter, services were conducted at Hubert Rauw's log house, starting on Dec. 27, 1904. The first high mass at Rauw's house was celebrated on March 26, 1905.

Construction of a new log church, 24 ft x 40 ft, was commenced on Aug. 15, 1905. This building was also used as a school. Finances were scarce for settlers who had recently immigrated to the area, therefore this facility was heavily subsidized by Hubert Rauw.

The first priest to hold services in 1904 and 1905 was Fr. Chrysostom Hoffmann.

On Aug. 29, 1915, at a special parish meeting, the parishioners of St. John's Parish made the decision to build a new church.

Construction of the basement of the new church was commenced on June 28, 1916. The initial amount of cement required was 1,050 bags (80 lb bags). The dimensions of the new church were 52 ft x 120 ft with a full basement 12 feet deep. The height of the steeple would be 120 feet.

The outside work on the church, except the steeple, was completed by Nov. 23, 1916, and on that same day the parishioners moved into the basement of the new church. The first services in the new church basement took place on Nov. 26, 1916.

From Nov. 1, 1904, to Nov. 23, 1916, 160 baptisms were performed, 16 marriages solemnized and 16 burials.

The church building was completed in 1919 at a total cost of $32,000. This was a very large financial commitment by parishioners during the First World War as at that time a war tax had to be paid on all material.

Pastors after Fr. Lawrence were: Fr. Matthew Michel, OSB, 1940-1943; Fr. Stephen Mohorko, OSB, 1943-1953; Fr. Alfred Engele, OSB, 1953-1961; Fr. Philip Loehr, OSB, 1961-1967; and Fr. Roman Schneider, OSB, 1967-1971.

The church was destroyed by fire on Nov. 26, 1971, as a result of arson, 55 years after the first service took place in the new basement on Nov. 26, 1916.