This was taken from the St. Anthony's Century 1858-1958 by Hilda Engbring Feldhake. The Birth of St. Anthony Parish Pioneer Catholics who lived in the Effingham area prior to 1854 were obliged to travel to Teutopolis or to Green Creek to attend church services. In 1854, at the time when the first buildings were being erected in Broughton (now Effingham), a log house was built near the center of the block bounded by Jefferson, Section, Second and Third streets to the rear of what has successively been known as the Trade Palace, the Chester Knitting Mill, and presently the Illinois Glove Company. Logs were donated by Gerhard Osthoff and the carpenter work donated by Anton Schleper, Casper Mindrup and his brother, Frederick. On weekdays this log building served as a school. But on Sundays, it was used as a church for Catholics of the area, being served by the various pastors from Teutopolis. When, on January 9, 1857, the Rev. Thomas Frauenhofer assumed the duties as resident pastor of Green Creek, he journeyed to Effingham every other Sunday to read Holy Mass for the few scattered Catholic people of the area. Thus Father Frauenhofer laid the foundation for the present strong parish of St. Anthony's Parish. 1858 marks the official beginning of St. Anthony's Parish. The number of Catholic families in the area rose to forty. Upon the advice of Father Frauenhoferm and with the approval of the Bishop, Right Rev. Henry Damien Juncker, D.D., it was decided that a church be built of brick. Such a decision was not reached over night. An active men's society had been formed in 1857, and as these men witnessed an increase in the number attending Mass in the log building, they were impelled to remedy the situation by planning for a larger place to worship. In fact, as early as 1856 the farmers were busy cutting cord-wood to be used in the making of brick and could be seen hauling stone and sand. When at last the final plans for the new church had received the approval of the Bishop, subscriptions were taken up. A total of $4, 234.00 was subscribed under the direction of the building committee composed of J.M. Mete, H. Willenborg, Henry Haarman, and Gerhard H. Ostoff. To David Alexander and Samuel Little, St. Anthony's Parish will forever be indebted. for they donated Block 16 of their North Addition on which the church was to be erected. Forty families contributed an average of $100 each toward the erection of the new church. In the spring of 1858, Rev. Bartholomew Bartels, resident pastor of Teutopolis, laid the cornerstone of the new edifice on the block bound by Second, Third, St. Louis and St. Paul (now Virginia) streets. This church stood on what is the present site of St. Anthony gymnasium. It served as the parish church until 1875, when the present church was built. In that year it was used as a school until 1894 when it became the parish hall. The Franciscan Fathers arrived in Teutopolis in 1858. They served St. Anthony's congregation as a mission until 1871 when a resident pastor was installed in Effingham. On Christmas Day 1858, the first mass was read at the new St. Anthony's Parish. Father Capistran was celebrant for the occasion. With Father Servatius Altmicks, who was appointed first pastor of St. Anthony's, Father Capistran opened a mission during which 120 received the sacraments. Dianne dit@spitfire.net ----- Original Message ----- From: <Fay1253@aol.com> To: <ILEFFING-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 2:43 PM Subject: Re: [ILEFFING-L] Re: St. Anthony Catholic Church (If you would like more details to the history of the church, let me know.) Diane, I would like the history of this church if you don't mind my asking. Faye Orlando, Florida ==== ILEFFING Mailing List ==== If you want to subscribe to this list or unsubscribe from it, send e-mail to ILEFFING-L-request@rootsweb.com or (for the digest list) ILEFFING-D-request@rootsweb.com and put the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the message body.