Historical Images of Porter County

Present St. Mary's Catholic Church, 1965
Kouts, Indiana

Date: 1965
Source Type: Photograph
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Kouts Centennial Book, 1965
Postmark: Not applicable
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: The seeds for the construction of a Catholic church in Kouts began in 1883 when local Catholics raised about $700. Father O'Reilly, from Valparaiso, purchased the church lots (Lots 3 and 4 in Block 2 of the Wright's Addition) from Hillary A. Wright in September 1885. The original wood frame church was constructed so that the structure could easily be converted into a parochial school house should the congregation grow to significant size. The original church was completely destroyed by a tornado on May 26, 1917, and the congregation soon rebuilt an "underground church" or "basement church." During the rebuilding, a church rectory was built in the adjacent lot. In 1926, Father Saltzer built the present church, seen here, over the old basement church. In 1934 a pipe organ was installed, by Father Kondsiela.

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Image and related text prepared by Steven R. Shook