Sesquincentennial Memorial 1834-1984

Sesquincentennial Memorial 1834-1984. . The reverend Johann Wilhelm Horstmann of Glandorf, Niedersachsen, Germany, founded Glandorf and St. John the Baptist Parish in 1834. The first settlers included J. Kahle, W. Gulker, C. Strope, M. Bockrath, F. Wischmann, F. Bockrath, and F. Brodeick. , By 1836 "Little Germany,” as Glandorf was often called, erected a frame church with the help of the Ottawa Indians. This bell, "St. Wilhelm” after the founder and a gift of B. Drerup, called the people to worship here and, in subsequent years, at Glandorf's daughter parishes, Father Horstmann, assisted by the Rev. G. Boehne, served the German Catholic immigrants scattered throughout Northwest Ohio. , Under the direction of the very Rev. Franz Desales Brunner, Glandorf in 1848 became a mission center for the priests and brothers of the society of the precious blood and the convents of the sisters of the precious blood: Maria Camp in Greensburg Township and Maria Zum Hl. Grabe in Glandorf. a brick church was built in 1846 where the Horstmann Monument now stands. The Marian Shrine, incorporating the tombstones from 1834- 19 00, was erected in 1954. , Begun in 1874 the present German Neo-Gothic church contains magnificent paintings, carvings, altars, and statues fashioned by German and Austrian Artisans in America and in Europe. In 1876 the pulpit was awarded a gold medal at the Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia. , The parish and community entered into a formal alliance with the mother community and parish in Germany in 1976. At that time the church, rectory, and convent were designated a National Historic Site by the U. S. Congress as outstanding contributions to the cultural and religious history of the area.