During Huber family reunions, one of the mandatory stops is St. Agnes, also known as the “church in the middle of the road,” because of the optical illusion it provides when approaching it.
The German community came together to build the cemetery and then a wooden church. Built first in 1885 and dedicated by Bishop Martin Marty, it is also known as the Siegel Church. George Siegel donated the land. Prior to the church, Siegel had owned and operated a post office nearby. Described as a shanty, the wooden post office hosted mass whenever a priest was available. (This sporadic mass schedule continues today.)
The Hubers were among the founding families of the small church. Emma’s family were also founding members – specifically the Rothmeyers and the Wagners. In fact, Emma’s uncle, George C. Wagner and his family lived in the 20 x 12 building that would later become the post office that George Siegel operated.
The principal reason for visiting the church in Utica is because the cemetery is the resting place of so many relatives. In fact, it is hard to imagine that the Hubers are not related in one way or another to everyone in the cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1882, three years before the wood-framed church was built in 1885. Wagners, Hubers, Helfesreiders and Rothmeyers were among the first families interned in the cemetery.
In 1906, a cyclone leveled the church. According to the history marking the centennial of the parish:
“The families of Huber, Wagner, Heying Hunhoff, Schramm, Drotzman, Siegel and others immediately began collecting money to rebuild the church. At the time, there were 17 families in the parish.”
While Peter had died in 1905, his son Joseph E. Huber and his wife, Emma, helped to rebuild the church by sponsoring one of the beautiful stained glass windows. Joseph’s other siblings may have also donated stained glass windows but we don’t have any pictures of these. Emma’s relatives, the Wagners (her mother’s maiden name) donated at least three windows. In ____, because ____, ____ windows were replaced at a cost of ____. George Siegel ordered these windows from Germany. Insurance paid for the cost of replacement.
Anna Huber (niece of Peter Huber) and her husband John Drotzman donated sand and gravel from their farm. The parishioners decided to replace the wooden church with a brick church. In the nearly 12 months it took to build the church, it rained so much a small pond that had developed in front of the church made mixing the cement easier.
The Huber, Wagner and Rothmeyer women were part of the church’s women’s group. Euphrosina and her daugher Christina Rothmeyer (Emma’s mother) were among the women who donated money between 1886-1890. Huber and other Wagner women also donated but because of the prevalence of names like “Anna” and “Theresa,” it is impossible to tell who was who.
A book written to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the church states that men and women sat on opposite sides of the church until 1947. The book attributes the change to the end of World War II.
Yankton was also home to many Irish Catholics. However, the Irish and German communities were often at odds with the Germans seeing the Irish as lazy people who drank too much. When the families of Joe Henry and Daniel Lee Huber visit Yankton, we also visit the Catholic church at Walshtown where the Smiths worshipped.
There is more coming on this page – more photos and text soon!