Near Suttons Bay in Leelanau County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
St. Wenceslaus Church and Cemetery
Photographed By Kathy Garman, August 17, 2022
1. St. Wenceslaus Church and Cemetery Marker
Inscription.
St. Wenceslaus Church and Cemetery In the 1860s and 1870s settlers from Bohemia (now part of Czechoslovakia) came to this area and worked at the Leland Lake Superior Iron Foundry and the Gill sawmill. Catholics attended mass at the Holy Trinity Church in Leland until the church burned in 1880. In 1890 the first St. Wenceslaus Church was built and the cemetery established. Ornate metal grave markers reflect the Bohemian heritage, as do the names Bourda, Houdek, Hula, Jelinek, Kalchick, Kirt, Kolarik, Korson, Kovarik, Maresh, Novotny, Reicha and Sedlacek which appear in the cemetery. The church membership doubled by 1908. In 1914 volunteers hauled bricks and other materials to this site and built the present church. This Late Gothic Revival church was completed during that year. Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State Registered Local Site No. 1671 Property of the State of Michigan 1990
St. Wenceslaus Church and Cemetery
In the 1860s and 1870s settlers from Bohemia (now part of Czechoslovakia) came to this area and worked at the Leland Lake Superior Iron Foundry and the Gill sawmill. Catholics attended mass at the Holy Trinity Church in Leland until the church burned in 1880. In 1890 the first St. Wenceslaus Church was built and the cemetery established. Ornate metal grave markers reflect the Bohemian heritage, as do the names Bourda, Houdek, Hula, Jelinek, Kalchick, Kirt, Kolarik, Korson, Kovarik, Maresh, Novotny, Reicha and Sedlacek which appear in the cemetery. The church membership doubled by 1908. In 1914 volunteers hauled bricks and other materials to this site and built the present church. This Late Gothic Revival church was completed during that year.
Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State
Registered Local Site No. 1671
Property of the State of Michigan 1990
Erected 1990 by Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State. (Marker Number L1671A.)
45° 3.294′ N, 85° 40.737′ W. Marker is near Suttons Bay, Michigan, in Leelanau County. Marker is at the intersection of East Kolarik Road (County Route 626) and North Setterbo Road (County Route 637), on the left when traveling east on East Kolarik Road. The marker is located between the church and the cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 8500 East Kolarik Road, Suttons Bay MI 49682, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 4, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 14, 2014, by Thomas A. Thomas of Brielle, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 816 times since then and 109 times this year. Last updated on September 3, 2022, by John Garman of Rochester Hills. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on September 3, 2022, by John Garman of Rochester Hills. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
