Volga German Heritage of
Ellis and Rush Counties in Kansas

Catharine

Katharinestadt, Russia, was the largest of the German colonies along the Volga River, and emigrants from that town left on October 22, 1875, and arrived in Baltimore on November 23. They wintered in Topeka, Kansas, and came to Hays on March 1, 1876. They built homes on the land they had selected northeast of Hays, and the town of Catharine was established on April 8. Over the next couple of years, other groups from Katharinestadt settled in Catharine after making the trip from Russia.

Citizens of Catharine were better off then their neighbors in the other villages because of their wealth that came from living in Katharinestadt, which was the market place for the colonies in the Volga. Their homes in Catharine had conveniences that their Volga German counterparts did not have, and their standard of living was higher.

Photographs of Catharine

	St. Catherine Church sanctuary
	Notice the detailed architecture inside the sanctuary
	Back of sanctuary of St. Catherine Church
	Sanctuary of St. Catherine Church
	Angels at entrance to St. Catherine Church
	St. Catherine Church

Education and church life were important to these early settlers, much like the other towns. A schoolhouse was built in 1879, which held both school classes and spiritual services. Another school building was built in place of the old one in 1902. St. Catherine Church was dedicated on October 6, 1892, and it is still being used for mass services to this day. The school was used up to the fall of 1999, when the students started attending school in Hays.

Scouts |Herzog | Liebenthal | Munjor | Pfeifer | Schoenchen

E-mail me with questions or comments. Most of the photographs on this Web site were taken by Patty Nicholas, and acknowledgement is given for any other photographs.