Wapakoneta in Auglaize County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Sts. Peter and Paul Church
Mother Church of the Petersburg Parishes
Saints Peter and Paul Church, Petersburg (1835), was the mother church for St. Joseph, Wapakoneta; St. John the Evangelist, Fryburg; St. Lawrence, Rhine; and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Botkins. All were founded by German-Catholic immigrants to west- central Ohio. After the removal of the Wapakoneta Shawnee in 1832, the land became available for purchase. The 1830s and '40s saw a wave of devout German settlers who wished to practice their faith in their new home, a desire served by missionary priests such as Father Wilhelm Horstman. Father Horstman first visited the settlement at Petersburg on May 8, 1835, presiding at Mass, baptizing, and blessing a marriage. In April 1836, immigrants John and Anna Mary Ruppert sold 40 acres of land in Pusheta Township to the trustees of the Catholic Church and a log church was built at the Petersburg site.
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The parish was dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul. It initially served the region, but often impassable roads prompted settlers to establish churches closer to home, first at Wapakoneta (1839), then Fryburg (1850), Rhine (1856), and Botkins (1865). The members of Sts. Peter and Paul fought for their church, even constructing a new building in 1869, but the parish dissolved by 1897. "Completely surrounded by her children – Wapakoneta, Fryburg, Rhine, and Botkins – the little log church at Petersburg was needed no longer.... Like the good seed: in giving life to new plants she loses her own. The ground where the mother church died is hallowed ground…It is our duty to keep it and respect it."
Father Lawrence Tebbe, 1950
Erected 2018. (Marker Number 8-6.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list.
Location. 40° 29.824′ N, 84° 9.779′ W. Marker is in Wapakoneta, Ohio, in Auglaize County. Marker is at the intersection of Santa Fe-New Knoxville Road (County Route 100) and Cemetery Rd (County Route 161), on the left when traveling east on Santa Fe-New Knoxville Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 15001 Santa Fe-New Knoxville Road, Wapakoneta OH 45895, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Site of first Sts. Peter & Paul Church & Graveyard (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); St. John Catholic Church and Parish Hall (approx. 1˝ miles away); Shelby House (approx. 2.4 miles away); Hittepole Cemetery Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.6 miles away); Olive Branch United Brethren In Christ Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.9 miles away); Cpl. Christian Schnell (approx. 4˝ miles away); Wapakoneta (approx. 4˝ miles away); a different marker also named Wapakoneta (approx. 4˝ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wapakoneta.
Also see . . . State Marker Commemorates Original Petersburg Church (The Catholic Telegraph, 6/27/18). (Submitted on June 27, 2018.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 11, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 26, 2018, by Rev. Ronald Irick of West Liberty, Ohio. This page has been viewed 392 times since then and 32 times this year. Last updated on June 7, 2023, by Grant & Mary Ann Fish of Galloway, Ohio. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on June 26, 2018, by Rev. Ronald Irick of West Liberty, Ohio. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.