This
file part of www.dodgejeffgen.com website
St. Andrew's Catholic Church
Leroy
Dodge County
Photos by Ken Riedl,
2005
Eight Years In The
Making
St. Andrew's Receives
Listing on
Wisconsin State
Register Of Historic Places
Mayville News, November 2009
Leonard
Schraufnagel of LeRoy was finally able to breathe a big sigh of relief when St.
Andrew's Catholic Church in LeRoy was officially listed on the Wisconsin State
Register of Historic Places on October 23 of this year. It's been a dream of Schraufnagel's to get
this completed before he is gone, and it's taken eight long years.
Getting
listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places isn't something you
do in a week or two by filling out a few forms.
It was a very long and complicated process that involved hiring a
historic preservation consultant. Her
finished report, which was submitted to the board, was 38 pages of data.
Schraufnagel,
87, became interested in preserving St. Andrew's Church when he was working on
his history book of LeRoy and St. Andrew's.
"The elderly people I talked to asked me to do it," he
recalled.
St.
Andrew The Apostle Catholic Church in LeRoy will move from the State Register
to the National Register in a matter of three to four months. Then there will
be a bronze plaque made for the church to recognize its official status.
"Bury
me," he tells people, "but not the history." That's one of the
reasons he writes his books and gives away so many copies. His research and knowledge will remain even
after he's gone. Schraufnagel is glad
to see another of his projects carried through to fruition. "I've done so many things, but there's
so much to do yet," he said.
St. Andrew's Church in LeRoy
is added to the
Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places
Mayville
News, November 14, 2009
Written and Contributed by Leonard
Schraufnagel
St.
Andrew The Apostle Catholic Church in LeRoy was listed on the Wisconsin State
Register of Historic Places during a meeting on October 23, 2009, of the
Wisconsin Historical Preservation Board at Eau Claire.
The
large Victorian Gothic Catholic Church, located on County Trunk Y, in the
village of LeRoy, has received this recognition of the State of Wisconsin for
its architecturally significant, Gothic Revival style and its elements of high
artistic value.
The
building is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture, common in
churches at the turn of the 20th century.
As
a rural church, it is larger than most churches in the surrounding area and
features elaborate Gothic details with its highly decorative interior design.
St.
Andrew's Church was built by master architect Anton Dohmen, an immigrant from
Germany, during the pastorate of Father John Blum in 1900.
On
September 25, 1901, the church was consecrated by Archbishop Frederick X.
Katzer.
Historical
records reveal that Casper and Regina Sterr donated 10 acres of prime farm land
to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on April 23, 1849, hence the founding of St.
Andrew's.
St.
Andrew's history includes the building of the first log church in about 1850 by
German immigrants. As immigrants
continued to arrive, a second church was built in 1868. In the later years of the 19th century, St.
Andrew's was a well established congregation with ever increasing membership.
Once
again, a larger church needed to be built in 1900.
The
third church, now 109 years in existence, stands proud for its spiritual and structural
integrity. Worshipping faithful are humbled within its massive walls.
The
church was built with more than 400,000 cream colored bricks, symbolizing the
faith and determination of our forefathers and the following generations who
preserved and maintained it.
Thirty-nine
stained glass windows are featured throughout the church. The windows were manufactured by the Emil
Frie Company of St. Louis, MO, and were done in Munich Style. This style was popular for gothic churches
during the early 20th century and Frie was a master of the "Munich
Style."
All
the stained glass windows were installed in 1912, donated by parish families,
school children and parish societies.
The
largest four windows (the Nativity, the Ascension, the Rose window, and St. Andrew's)
were refurbished at the turn of the 21st century by the Conrad Schmitt Studios
Inc.
Compiled
historic data was presented to Historic Preservation Consultant Carol Lohry
Cartwright for preparation in the nomination process. The 38-page Cartwright report describes the
church in architectural detail in addition to stressing the high level of
integrity of the stained glass art and its historic legacy.
Former
pastor Father Anthony Gundrum coined the phrase "Cathedral of the
Marsh" which is a truly fitting title for this outstanding historic
building.
The
State Register of Historic Places is the official list of the State's cultural
resources worthy of preservation.
St.
Andrew's community will continue to build on its legacy.
Father
Tom Biersack is presently serving St. Mary's and St. Andrew's parishes.
St. Andrew’s Dedicates Historical
Plaque on Sunday July 18, 2010.
Cross Reference: