St. Martin’s Church
In 1853, a group of German Catholics from Silesia, Prussia, emigrated to the Charlestown area. By 1866, the congregation had built a log church where they could assemble for services. They erected the current church in 1875, using limestone from a local quarry. Residents salvaged some of the logs from its predecessor to construct a school. From 1866 to 1899, visiting pastors services the parish.
In 1899, the Salvatorian Fathers of St. Nazianz took charge of the parish, continuing services until 2004. An ongoing shortage of priests led in part to the church’s closure the next year. Descendents of the first settlers purchased the property from the Diocese of Green Bay in order to preserve the historic church, and formed St. Martin Heritage Park, Inc. in 2006.
Marker is at the intersection of County Route T and Church Road, on the right when traveling east on County Route T.
Courtesy hmdb.org
