Saint Wendel, Indiana
Saint Wendel[1] is an unincorporated community located on the Vanderburgh-Posey county line in Indiana. It occupies small portions of two townships-- Armstrong and Robinson. The community is named for St. Wendel Parish, which in turn is named after Wendelin of Trier, patron saint of Wendel Wassmer, who originally owned the grounds used for this Catholic church building.
History
The settlement was founded by Marcus and Wendel Wassmer. The Wassmer brothers were German-Canadian coopers who had immigrated from Baden to Toronto. Legend has it that in the spring of 1837, they walked south to this vicinity. Upon their return to Toronto in the summer, they found they no longer had jobs and returned on foot once again to the same grounds they had visited that spring. Their second arrival is said to have happened in the fall of 1837. The Wassmers secured some farmland, and their descendants still live there today.[2]
In 1842, a mission church was erected over a five-day period, and it was named in honor of Wendel Wassmer's patron saint, Wendelin of Trier.[2] In 1881, Wendel Station was built at mile 233 on the Evansville and Peoria Railroad at St. Wendel Road, approximately two miles (3.2 km) north of the church.[3] By 1882, St. Wendel's population was 175 individuals.[4]
A post office was established at Saint Wendel in 1852, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1907.[5]
References
