Polish Churches in Minnesota before 1910

By Ray Marshall

(c) copyright 1996 Ray Marshall, all rights reserved

Often when we are searching for our grandparents and further back, we find that there has not been a lot of information reported about Polish immigration to Minnesota, especially in the last century. The chapter about the Poles in the book, "They Chose Minnesota", is an excellent starting point in the English language for getting an overview of the subject.

A good second source is Waclaw Kruszka's "History of the Poles in America, a 13 volume series published in 1908. The author was a priest in Stevens Point, WI, and other communities. His brother published a Polish newspaper in Milwaukee and arranged the publication of this valuable reference.

Father Kruszka was a champion of the Polish Catholic Church in America and lobbied intensively for the consecration of Polish Bishops in an organization largely run in those days by Irish and German Bishops. He wrote a series of articles on every, repeat, every Polish parish in the United States in his efforts to lobby the American Catholic hierarchy for such an appointment, which finally happened about 1908 or so.

This series is a reprint of those articles. It is written in Polish, but names and dates can be deciphered. A review of the series recently published by the Catholic University of America said that while the estimates of numbers of parishioners is suspect (to support his cause, no doubt), much else is quite accurate and the set is a really valuable resource on Polish immigration to the United States.

The 13 volumes in Polish are believed to be available in Minnesota only through the Immigration History Research Center of the University of Minnesota. Only one or two of them would be applicable to Minnesota, but if you have relatives who lived in the last part of the 19th century in other American cities, you may find some information in this set.

As a general rule, there is not too much specific information on each church listed other than the date it was established and maybe the names of the priests who served there and perhaps where they came from. 

N.B.: The names of the priests are preceded by the Polish abbreviation "ks."

In a few instances, one might find a bit more about things going on in the parish, the names of some parishioners, local politics, the activities of Polish National Catholic dissidents, etc. While most of these are in larger cities, many are not. Father Kruszka depended on local informants for much of his information and many of these did provide more than the most basic information.

Minnesota Parishes which have more than the minimum reported in them include:

• St. Wojciech
• St. Paul
• St. Peter
• Delano
• St. Stanislaus
• Winona
• St. Stanislaus
• Swan River
• St. John
• Virginia
• Assumption
• Florian
• St. Mary Star of the Sea, Duluth

The Immigration History Research Center is located at 826 Berry Street (between Franklin and University) in St. Paul, near the KSTP tower. (612-627-4208). They are only open Monday through Friday during the day. Two volumes in English, summaries of the 13 volume series has recently been published by Catholic University in Washington, DC. 

The early Minnesota Polish Catholic parishes are listed below. Where no church name is given, reference only was found to the community in the information given for a nearby parish. 

Ray Marshall
4052 Minnehaha Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406-
eMail address: raymarsh@minn.net
 

Archdiocese of St. Paul

Edison Township, Appleton, Swift County, 1873 
Delano (Wright Co.), St. Peter, 1874 
Faribault (Rice Co.), Immaculate Conception, 1876 
Franklin (Delano), Our Lady of Czestochowa, 1882 
Lexington (LeSeuer County), St. Joseph, 1901, 68 families 
Minneapolis (Hennepin Co.), Holy Cross, 1700 S. 4th St., 1886 
New Brighton (Ramsey Co.), 1902, 70 families 
St. Paul (Ramsey Co.) St. Casimir, 938 Geranium, 1893, 400 families by 1904 
St. Paul, St. Wojciech (Adalbert), 241 Charles, 1880, 68 families
Silver Lake (McLeod Co.), 1873, 200 members
Taunton (Lyon Co.), Sts. Cyril & Methodius, 1875, 50 members
Wilno (Lincoln Co.), St. John Kantego, 1886, 300 families

Diocese of Winona

Claremont (Dodge Co.), some Polish families in 1900 East Chain (Martin Co.), 
St. Rodziny, 1892, 63 families (1906) 
Minnesota Lake (Blue Earth Co.), St. John Chrzciciela, 1875, 100 Polish Families 
Owatonna (Steele Co.), St. Jacka, 1890 Wells (Faribault Co.)
Mission served by Hayward, 1902, 150 members 
Winona (Winona Co.), St. Stanislaus Kostka, 1873, Winona, St. Casimir,, 200 members 

Diocese of St. Cloud

Alberta (Benton Co.), St. Wojciech, 1880, 200 families Browerville (Todd Co.), 
St. Joseph, 1885, 250 families Duelm (Benton Co.)
St. Lawrence, 1900, 40 families Elmdale (Morrison Co.)
St. Henry, 1877 Flensburg (Morrison Co.)
Sacred Heart, 1895 Foley (Benton Co.)
St. Brigit Ledoux (Morrison Co.), St. Stanislaus, 1882 (Swan River), 250 families 
Little Falls (Morrison Co.), St. Wojciech, 1900, 200 families 
Millerville (Douglas Co.), 1896 
North Prairie (Morrison Co.), Holy Cross, 1872, 200 families 
Opolu (North Prairie), M.B. Karmelltanskie, 1889, 75 families 
Perham (Otter Tail Co.), St. Stanislaus, 1884, 150 families 
Platte (Morrison Co.) , Holy Cross, 1901 
Rich Prairie (Morrison Co.?), 1900 
Royalton (Morrison Co.), Holy Trinity 
St. Ann (Stearns Co.), Immaculate Conception, 1886, 60 families 
St. Cloud, St. John Kantego, 1900 
Sauk Rapids (Benton Co.), 

1900 Diocese of Duluth 

Barnum (Carlton Co.), 
Holy Trinity Barto (Greenbush) (Roseau Co.), 1894, 50 families 
Cloquet (Carlton Co.), St. Casimir, 40 families (1908) 
Duluth (St. Louis Co.), St. Josephat, 1909 (National Catholic) Duluth
St. Mary Star of the Sea, 1880 Duluth, St. Peter and Paul, 1901
Gnesen (St. Louis / Duluth), St. Joseph, 1886, 88 families 
Krozach (Kittson Co.), 1892, 32 families Moose Lake (Carlton Co.) 
North Branch (Chisago Co.) 50 families
Split Rock (Carlton Co.), St. Joseph, 1905, 50 families
Stanislaus/Florian (Marshall Co.), Assumption, 1880, 75 families
Sturgeon Lake (Pine Co.), St. Isidore, 1890, 160 families (1902)
Virginia, St. John Chrzciciela, 1905

Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin (adjacent to Duluth)

Allouez, 1890, 50 families
Superior, St. Stanislaus B.i.M., 1899, 100 families 
 

Archdiocese of St. Paul

Edison Township, Appleton, Swift County, 1873 
Parishioner:...Walek Karo 

Delano (Wright Co.), St. Peter, 1874 
Priests: Damazy Socha
Rynda (Czech.)
Wawrzyniec Zawadzki
Mathias Savs (Slovak)
Jozef Smiech 

Parishioners:
Jozef M. Windock
Jan J. Czock
Jakob J. Gabriel
Marcin Stralka
Szymon Kornek
B. Cebula 

Faribault (Rice Co.), Immaculate Conception, 1876
Priest:
Wawrzyniec Zawadzki 

Franklin (Delano), Our Lady of Czestochowa, 1882
Priests:
Rynda...Jo~zef S~miech 

Lexington (LeSeuer County), St. Joseph, 1901, 68 families 

Minneapolis, St. Krzyza, 1700 S. 4th St., 1886
Priests:
Jakub Pacholski
Henryk Jazdzewski 

Parishioner:
Jan Barzynski 

New Brighton (Ramsey Co.), 1902, 70 families
Priests:
Dominik Majer
A.W. Szczukowski

Parishioner:
Jozef Skiba 

St. Paul, St. Casimir, 938 Geranium, 1893, 400 families by 1904
Priests:
Kazimierza Kobylinskiego 

St. Paul, St. Wojciech (Adalbert), 241 Charles, 1880, 68 families
Priests:
Horbaczewski
Dominik A. Majer
E. Stan
W. Zawadzkiego

Parishioners:
Jozef Matz
Kanka
Dalka
Jan T. Rosenthal
Kaldonski
Jarosz 

Silver Lake (McLeod Co.), 1873, 200 members
Priests:
Wawrzyniec Zawadzki
Wladislaw Tyszkiewicz
A. Zalewski 

Taunton (Lyon Co.), Sts. Cyril & Methodius, 1875, 50 members
Priests:
Ignacy Murlowski
A. Baczyk 

Wilno (Lincoln Co.), St. John Kantego, 1886, 300 families
Priests:
Jazdzewskski
Jana Andrzejewski
Jozef F. Cieminski 


Diocese of Winona Claremont (Dodge Co.), some Polish families in 1900

East Chain (Martin Co.), St. Rodziny, 1892, 63 families (1906)
Priests:
J. Cieszynski
Jan Mikolaj 

Minnesota Lake (Blue Earth Co.), St. John Chrzciciela, 1875, 100 Polish Families
Priests:
H. Jazdzewski
J. Cieszynski
Daszkowski
Jan Mikolaj

Owatonna (Steele Co.), St. Jacka, 1890
Priests:
Zaleski
J. Piwo (Czech.)
Hieronim Michal Daszkowski

Parishioner:
T.J. Szymanski 

Wells (Faribault Co.), Mission served by Hayward, 1902, 150 members
Priests:
J. Cleszynski
R. Berendt
Jan Hanak
H. Jazdzeski

Winona (Winona Co.), St. Stanislaus Kostka, 1873
Priests:
Romuald Byzewski
Wal~un
Hipolit Go~rski
Wincenty 
Lewandowski
Damazy Socha
Wawrzyniec Zawadzki
Jacek Gulski
Gutowski
January Czarnowski
Byzewskim
Jakob Pacholski
Jaozef Ciemin~ski

Parishioner: 
Jan Ukonczywszy 

Winona, St. Casimir,, 200 members
Priest:
P. Kupferschmidt

Diocese of St. Cloud 

Alberta (Benton Co.), St. Wojciech, 1880, 200 families
Priests:
Gruenholz
Sroka
Wojcik
Miklaszewski
Jan St. Guzdek
J. Kitowski
S. Suszczynski
J. Dudek

Browerville (Todd Co.), St. Joseph, 1885, 250 families
Priests:
J. Cygan
J. Studnicki
Metody Slatynski
Jozef Dudek
Jan Guzdek 

Duelm (Benton Co.), St. Lawrence, 1900, 40 families
Priests:
S. Urbanek
Stain
A. Plachta

Elmdale (Morrison Co.), St. Henry, 1877
Priests:
Jan Belzowski
P. Kuich

Flensburg (Morrison Co.), Najsw. Serca (Sacred Heart), 1895
Priests:
Stanislawa Laczynski
Kilinski
Szymon P. Dabrowski
Jan Tokarz
Langego 

Foley (Benton Co.), St. Brigit 
Priest:
J. Kitowski

Ledoux (Morrison Co.), St. Stanislaus, 1882 

(Swan River), 250 families
Priests:
Gruenholz
Nagl
Henryk Cichocki
Piotra Chowanca
Stanislawa Siedlecki
A.J. Kitowski
S. Suszczynski 
Czeslaw Zielonka 

Little Falls (Morrison Co.), St. Wojciech, 1900, 200 families
Priest:
Teodor Rekosiak 

Millerville (Douglas Co.), 1896 
Priest:
Wyszt 

North Prairie (Morrison Co.), St. Krzyza, 1872, 200 families
Priest:
Edward Nagl (Czech.)
A. Gospodar

Opolu (North Prairie), M.B. Karmelltanskie, 1889, 75 families Priests:
Chowanca
Wojcik
Kitowski
Czeslaw Zielonka 

Perham (Otter Tail Co.), St. Stanislaus, 1884, 150 families
Priests:
Piotra Chowanca
Gruenholz
Wojcik
Roman Wawrzykowski
Dobrizynski
Ignacy Wypich
Urbanke
Floryan Matuszewski 

Platte (Morrison Co.) , St. Krzyza 1901
Priests: Wawrzykowski
Jozef Karpinski 

Rich Prairie (Morrison Co.?), 1900 

Royalton (Morrison Co.), Holy Trinity
Priest:Pawel Kuich

St. Ann (Stearns Co.), Immaculate Conception, 1886, 60 families
Priests:
Piotra Chowanca
S. Dabrowski
Zygmunta Suszczynski 
P. Brenny 

St. Cloud, St. John Kantego, 1900
Priests:
Gospodar
Stain
Stefan Plaza 

Sauk Rapids (Benton Co.), 1900
Priest:
Niejaki Strelka (P.N.C.) 

Diocese of Duluth

Barnum (Carlton Co.), Holy Trinity 

Barto (Greenbush) (Roseau Co.), 1894, 50 families
Priests:
Wl. Naturski
Antoni Ddrewnicki

Cloquet (Carlton Co.), St.Casimir, 40 families (1908) Priests:...Leon Laszkowski 

Duluth, St. Josephat, 1909 (National Catholic) 

Duluth, St. Mary Star of the Sea, 1880
Priests:
Klemensa Gruenholz
Zielinski
Chowanca
Kamil Sierzputowski
Jan Sroka
F. Budzikowski

Parishioners:
T. Helinski 
Gryglaszewski 

Duluth, St. Peter and Paul, 1901 
Priests:
Wladyslaw Rakowski
M. Laskowski

Gnesen (St. Louis/Duluth), St. Joseph, 1886, 88 families
Priest:
Sroka

Krozach (Kittson Co.), 1892, 32 families
Priests:
Wladyslaw
NaturskiDwernicki
C. Groetchel (Winnipeg) 

Moose Lake (Carlton Co.) North Branch (Chisago Co.) 50 families 

Split Rock (Carlton Co.), St. Joseph, 1905, 50 families
Priest
Michal Cleslak

Stanislawowie/Florian (Marshall Co.), Assumption, 1880, 75 families
Priests:
Piotr Chowaniec
Kurowski
Radziejewski...
Sebastyanski
Wl. Naturski
M. Sengir
Floryan Matuszewski 
Piotr Podleski 

Parishioners:
W. Kitowski
Joz. Kardowski
J. Gracek
Magda Zawadzka
Joz. Szutietowski 

Sturgeon Lake (Pine Co.), St. Isidore, 1890, 160 famlies (1902)
Priests:
Sroka
Mikolaj Tolpa
Michal Sengir
S.A. Iciek
Pukrop
Kolowski 
Parishioners:
Jurek
Miotka
Klosowski
W. Rzepka
J. Luczak
H. Niezgoda 

Virginia, St. John Chrzciciela, 1905
Priests:
Ajryska 

Parishioners:
Jan Michan
J.F. Musial 

Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin (Adjacent to Duluth)

Allouez, 1890, 50 families
Priest:
O. Remiguisz Berendt 
Parishioners:
Piotr Nadolski
Piotr Coda
Karol Wesolowski 
Franciszek 
MireckiJan Biernacki
Walenty Klimbik
Marcin Toboolski
Jan Janowski
Jozek Pietrowski
Jan Tatulski
Marcina Kmicika 

Superior, St. Stanislaus B.i.M., 1899, 100 families
Priests:
Korczyka
August Babinski 

Parishioners:
Tomasz Watlak
Wal. Maniak
Piotr Nadolski
Andrzej Kolanek 

For further information, contact: 
Ray Marshall
4052 Minnehaha Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406-
eMail address: raymarsh@minn.ne