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1. Convent and orphanage built by Sisters of St. Benedict, Pierz, Minnesota
- Creator:
- Saint John's Abbey (SJA), Collegeville, Minnesota
- Date Created:
- 1887?
- Description:
- Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). In 1873, Mother Antonia Herman, OSB, arranged to have the Sisters of St. Benedict purchase 10 acres near the church in Pierz intending to begin an independent Benedictine community there. When the new community did not materialize, the building was used for some years as an orphanage for girls because the convents in St. Joseph and St. Cloud were no longer able to house all 63 orphans (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
- Contributing Institution:
- Saint Benedict's Monastery
- Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- Black-and-white photographs
2. Remains of chapel (center building on Kapsner farm) built by Father Francis Pierz in Pierz, Minnesota
- Date Created:
- 1909?
- Description:
- Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Father Francis Xavier Pierz, an early missionary and friend to the American Indians and the white settlers of the Northwest Territory, chose Rich Prairie (later named "Pierz" in his honor) as his place of retirement in the late 1860's. He had come to Minnesota in 1852 and established missions and parish communities throughout the Northwest Territory. With luring descriptions of the rich soil and a moderate climate he invited German Catholics living in eastern states to venture moving to this western frontier. A small church, which he built in Rich Prairie, is preserved on the Kapsner farm. Accustomed as he was to living in tents or camping out in his travels throughout the Territory, Father Pierz would describe his little dirt-floor log chapels as beautiful churches. By 1871, the small rural parish he founded in Pierz (Rich Prairie) was ready to welcome the Benedictine sisters as teachers in their log school house. This photo was likely given to the archives by one of the eight Kapsner family members of the Pierz area who joined the Benedictine community in St. Joseph (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
- Contributing Institution:
- Saint Benedict's Monastery
- Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- Black-and-white photographs
3. Teachers and pupils at the church, Pierz, Minnesota
- Date Created:
- 1881?
- Description:
- Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). The first log school, though built by the parishioners, was supported by government funds and was, therefore, also the district school for Pierz. By 1889, the public versus parochial school controversy demanded a clarification of schools. The parishioners then claimed the school they had built as their St. Edward's Parochial School. Later, the second floor of the school was opened as a high school. The school was then renamed St. Joseph's School (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
- Contributing Institution:
- Saint Benedict's Monastery
- Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- Black-and-white photographs
4. Teachers and pupils at the first school built by Father Francis Pierz, Pierz, Minnesota
- Creator:
- Saint John's Abbey (SJA), Collegeville, Minnesota
- Date Created:
- 1872?
- Description:
- Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Father Francis Pierz invited the Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph to teach in Pierz where he and his parishioners had begun building a school in 1869. The school had not been completed by the time the sisters came in 1871, so they lived with some of the parishioners until the upstairs of the log school house was completed as the sisters' convent. The school on the first floor accommodated 100 pupils. For the sisters, this was a first experience of staffing a rural school and living at such a distance from the motherhouse. However, rural schools mushroomed quickly throughout the Northwest Territory. By 1910, the sisters staffed over 40 such schools outside St. Cloud and the Twin Cities area. Needless to say, the teachers endured many hardships in these rural areas. If they were lucky, equipment consisted of desks and a piece of blackboard. Attendance was variable and classrooms were overcrowded (sometimes 80 in one small room). At times there were no classrooms other than the church, the church basement or sacristy. Cold and hunger prevailed and the ever-present hostile controversy of public versus parochial schools affected school discipline. Salaries were sparse or even non-existent (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives ; McDonald, pages 68-69).
- Contributing Institution:
- Saint Benedict's Monastery
- Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- Black-and-white photographs
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