The earliest Mennonite settlers arrived
in Meade County in 1906. These settlers were members of the Kleine
Gemeinde Church. They were part of a rather large group of immigrants
who came from the steppes of the Ukraine to North America in 1874
and 1875, seeking religious freedom and finding a welcome in the
United States and Canada. German was their first language and
the "plautdietsch" or Low German served as their "everyday"
language. those who settled in Meade County had settled first
in the area around Jansen and Fairbury, Nebraska. As their families
grew and land became scarce, they began to look for alternatives.
Martin T. Doerksen from Inman, Kansas, a land agent, was influential
in bringing the new settlers to Meade County from Nebraska. The
first families arrived in 1906 and others soon followed. They
came to Meade County when it was open prairie. There were no roads,
and cattle from the ranches had free range. Cattlemen, seeing
that they would have to give up the free range, did not offer
encouragement. Others had attempted to settle this area, but none
had been successful.
In 1907 people began to move in larger
groups, and soon most of the Kleine Gemeinde congregation from
Jansen, Nebraska, had been transplanted. They came by train and
chose to settle first in an area about twenty miles southeast
of the town of Meade. This part of Meade County was known for
years as the "darp" or settlement. About a dozen new
Mennonite settlers purchased about six sections on April 27, 1907
from C. R. Fullington and George Theis, with Martin Doerksen's
assistance. The shaded area on the map
identifies these original six sections. Mr. Doerksen gave his
one quarter section of ground at Inman, Kansas as a down payment
for his land in Meade County. As more families moved into this
community, it expanded. Church families were spread out to the
extent that the Kleine Gemeinde congregation eventually built
two church buildings, one in the "darp" and the other
farther north.
Other Mennonites also moved into the
county, some arriving as early as 1907. This group also had roots
in South Russia and most of them were members of the General Conference
Mennonite Church. Many of them came from families that had originally
settled in Central Kansas, and many had relatives in the Kleine
Gemeinde congregation. They also spoke German and Plautdietsch,
but were generally more liberal both in theology and practice
than their Kleine Gemeinde neighbors. They settled on farms southeast
of Meade, and as the community expanded it stretched from north
to south for more than twenty miles. Churches and schools were
organized. The Pleasant Hill School district was formed in 1908
and this building was also used as a church building until 1921.
The church was organized in 1910 and named Bruderthal. In 1936
they changed the name to Evangelical Mennonite Brethren. Another
General Conference group formed a church known as the Nebo Church
in 1917 and these two congregations merged in 1930.
The Kleine Gemeinde congregation dissolved
in 1942/43 and the south church was closed. In 1949 this building
was moved to the Meade Bible Academy campus. In 1968 Meade County
4-H Club members raised $1000 to pay the expenses of moving the
building to the Meade County Fairgrounds. Services were continued
in the north church, and those who worshiped there formed the
Emmanuel Mennonite Church in 1944. This building was remodeled
and served the congregation for many years until they moved into
a new brick building in the city of Meade in 1966. This church
is not affiliated with any conference.
True to their traditions, these Mennonites
lived a rather exclusive lifestyle. For many years they pretty
much controlled the district schools, and had their own high school,
the Meade Bible Academy. School consolidation took its toll in
the 1950's and '60's, and the country schools that dotted the
landscape closed one by one. The Mennonite children became integrated
into the Meade public schools and the Academy closed in August
of 1966. The number of Mennonite farmsteads has decreased and
people of non-Mennonite background occupy many of those that remain.
The early settlers were truly pioneers. They found ways to tame
the prairie, and their determination to persevere resulted in
a measure of prosperity for many of them. Some chose to leave
the community during the depression years, moving west to California
and Oregon. Many of the descendents of the original settlers still
reside in Meade County, and their contribution to the community
honors the legacy of these brave pioneers.
Written by Vern Zielke, Meade County
- 2003
Pictures courtesy of Alma Regier, Meade
County
Meade
County pictures of schools
Meade
County pictures of churches
Meade County
map
