St. Anna, Wisconsin

Looking west at downtown St. Anna
St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church
Russell town hall in St. Anna

St. Anna is an unincorporated community in Calumet and Sheboygan Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin.[1] It lies in the towns of Russell and New Holstein. The name of the community is pronounced "St. Ann" with the final "a" silent.

History

St. Anna priest Rev. John Haen described the St. Anna area prior to European emigrants "The land at the coming of the early settlers in this vicinity was covered with dense forests which had not been touchd by woodmen's axe. The soil was rich and fertile for no plowshare had entered. The woods were teeming with deer and other wild animals hunted only the by the Brothertown Indians who inhabited this region."[2] In 1848, 70 emigrants from Hamburg, Germany settled in the New Holstein area, forming the basis of what would become the present city of New Holstein. St. Anna's development began in the fall of 1848 when some of these German Roman Catholics built a log church.[3] The church had added a school by 1878.[4] By 1881, St. Anna consisted of a wooden shoe factory, several general stores, and two hotels.[3] The Chilton Times-Journal said that St. Anna was "once the center of the wooden shoe industry in Wisconsin."[5] The cornerstone for community's new brick block church was laid on November 4, 1895 and the structure is still used (as of 2014).[4]

Holyland

St. Anna is located at the edge of an area in eastern Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin known as "The Holyland", so called because of the large number of communities built around churches, including St. Peter, St. Cloud, Marytown, Mount Calvary, Johnsburg, Calvary, Brothertown and Jericho.

A recognizable feature in St. Anna is the Roman Catholic St. Ann's Church, located at the peak of the largest hill in the area.[6] St. Ann Parish is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.

Transportation

St. Anna is located at the intersection of Calumet County highways A and Q, and Sheboygan County H. Wisconsin Highway 149 formed the backbone into the area before it was decommissioned in 2006. It was located less than one mile (or approximately 1 kilometer) north of St. Anna.

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ "Saint Anna, Wisconsin". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. ↑ Haen, Rev. John (1951). St. Ann Parish booklet.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Looking Back/Calumet County History - 1881". Chilton Times-Journal. 2007-12-27.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cooley, Sandra (March 1, 1984 (reprinted February 20, 2014)). "Moment in Time". The Tri-County News. Check date values in: |date= (help);
  5. ↑ Edens, Mrs. Dale (January 18, 1973). "Historical Insight". Chilton Times-Journal.
  6. ↑ St. Anna Parishes
  7. ↑ 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1983-1984, Biographical Sketch of Wilfrid J. Turba, pg. 39