A little bit about us…

Our History

From the very beginning, St. John the Baptist parish has felt a strong responsibility for educating its children.  It is recorded in the parish history, One Hundred Fifty Years For God and Country, “The log church had hardly been built for the divine service (1839) when a school teacher was installed in the same building throughout the week to give this blessing to the children of the mission parish.”  There are no official records concerning the enrollment of the first schools, but attendance averaged from 20 to 30 children.

Our history further records the second school building to be a frame weatherboard building built in 1844.  The third school building was the old priest house and the fourth a brick structure built in the late 1870’s, located between the present church and library/computer lab.

The fifth school building, erected in 1960-61, is the one we currently use.  “The building was completed with six classrooms, bathroom facilities, an office, cafeteria complete with a large kitchen, and a gym/parish center.”

Enrollment steadily increased and the decision was made to add two more classrooms and two basement rooms.  A fund drive was started in 1975 and the classrooms were built in 1976-77.

In 1991, an addition was made to the east side of our building.  The gym was enlarged, a classroom and bathrooms were added on one level, and another classroom/meeting room and storage area was added to the lower level.

Through all of this construction and change, the parishioners of St. John the Baptist have worked and sacrificed to make progress happen.  Children attending our school now have ancestors that worked to build the first log structure.  We have a rich history in our school.

More on the history of our parish and school can be found in the book One Hundred Fifty Years For God and Country available by contacting the school secretary.