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Volga Germans
Fort Hays
Other Colonies

Homesteading in Ellis County

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.

Between 1878-1883, several Moravian Austrians came to the community with their families to begin their new lives in America. Moravia was part of the Austrio-Hungarian Empire. These families were accepted by the Volga-Germans living in the town and became a vital part of the community. Some of their descendents, the Schmeidler and the Polifka families, remain in the area today.

   
St. Catherine Catholic Church                                                                                                                     Polifka Farm

Angels at Entrance to St. Catherine Church

St. Catherine Church

Sanctuary and Nave of St. Catherine Church

Choir Loft of St. Catherine Church

Notice the detailed architecture inside the church

St. Catherine Church Sanctuary

Schoolhouse at Catharine

Sources