Property Record
N10232 STATE HIGHWAY 149
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Church of the Holy Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | St. Mary's Church |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 59982 |
| Location (Address): | N10232 STATE HIGHWAY 149 |
|---|---|
| County: | Fond du Lac |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Calumet |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 17 |
| Range: | 19 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 27 |
| Quarter Section: | SE |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: | NE |
| Year Built: | 1880 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | 1907 |
| Survey Date: | 1999 |
| Historic Use: | church |
| Architectural Style: | Romanesque Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Limestone |
| Architect: | Hutter Construction Co. (1907) |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. 1999: A early as ca. 1840, a modest Catholic congregation had formed in the vicinity of Marytown. Although services were held at the residence of Mathias Burg, events such as weddings and funerals were held at the church in nearby Johnsburg. Within the same decade, Marytown's Catholic population had sufficiently expanded to require a resident pastor and Burg donated sixty acres for the purpose of building a house of worship. That year, parishioners cleared the land and used the timber to construct their church. The next thirty-five years witnessed a number of resident pastors, one of whom was Rev. Caspar Rehrl. Fr. Rehrl went on to create the Congregation of St. Agnes, the major institutions of which are largely located in Fond Du Lac. In 1879, a stove in the church exploded and destroyed the majority of the interior. The congregation chose to rebuild their house of worship with local quarried stone, a plentiful resource located along the ridge of nearby Lake Winnebago. A second fire occurred on the property in 1907, and resulted in the destruction of all but the exterior stone walls of the ca. 1879 church edifice. That same year, Hutter Construction Company of Fond du Lac was hired as general contractor, and they were responsible for the church's reconstruction. In 1918, St. Mary's hired contractor John Hayes to erect a "modern" school near the base of the parcel's hill. Within the following decade, the church's interior was ornately decorated and painted, and a stone grotto honoring Our Lady of Lourdes was also added to the overall complex. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | Mueller, ed., Centennial Jubilee, 1849-1949. Architecture/History Survey 1999: Heritage Research (Schnell) |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |