Carroll County IAGenWeb

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY IOWA

A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement

VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1912

Transcribed by Sharon Elijah September 20, 2020

Very Rev. B. A. Schulte, who since April, 1884, has been pastor of the Sacred Heart church at Templeton, is one of the best known and most beloved priests of the county. His birth occurred in Dubuque county, Iowa, on the 19th of February, 1856. His father, Anton Schulte, came from Germany to the United States in 1846, settling in Dubuque county, this state, where he worked at the carpenter’s trade. Subsequently he took up his abode on a farm in that county, continuing its cultivation until called to his final rest in 1858.

Very Rev. B. A. Schulte supplemented his preliminary education by a course of study in St. John’s University of Collegeville, Minnesota, and subsequently attended St. Francis Seminary of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and St. Vincent’s College of Pennsylvania. In November, 1879, he was made pastor of St. Joseph’s church at State Center, Marshall county, Iowa, there remaining until he came to Carroll county. In the spring of 1883 he was commissioned by Rt. Rev. Bishop John Hennessey, of Dubuque, Iowa, to visit the new towns established in this county along the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, namely: Templeton, Manning, Conn Rapids and Dedham. With the nucleus of about three dozen families scattered throughout Eden, Roselle and Warren townships, a new parish was founded in Templeton and holy mass was said or sung at monthly intervals, on Sundays, in a hall above the hardware store of Messrs. Conrad and Frank Meis (later owned by Seyller & Shoemaker) and afterward in a large room in the Anderson Hotel, now called the Templeton Hotel. In November of the same year a frame church, thirty-six by sixty-five feet, was erected by some members of Roselle church on the farm of John Schlichte, and later moved to Templeton, where an addition was made to the structure, which served as a house of worship for a number of years and was dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In April, 1884, Very Rev. B. A. Schulte was transferred to Templeton, but still continued to visit his parishes in Marshall county, namely: State Center, Haver Hill and St. Anthony,--and in Story county: Gilbert Station. He was the first priest to conduct services in Manning, Coon Rapids, Dedham and Templeton. Under his supervision and direction a new church was built at Coon Rapids in 1884, while in Dedham a lot was procured and an edifice erected thereon in the spring of 1892, being named St. Joseph’s church. At Manning the Very Rev. B. A. Schulte conducted services in the different houses until a church was erected in 1885.

In 1900 at Templeton, was begun the erection of a church of Gothic design and cathedral-like proportions, its dimensions being one hundred and thirty-six by fifty-seven feet, with a central spire of one hundred and seventy feet and four flanking towers seventy feet high. The work was done by a St. Louis firm at a cost of about twenty-five thousand dollars, not including the work done by the parishioners, nor the superintendence, selection and procuration of the various materials by the Rev. Rector. Later on not only many visitors, but different architects expressed the opinion that an edifice of such style and dimensions could hardly be put up for less than sixty thousand dollars. The aggregate value of church property may be fairly considered to amount to approximately around one hundred thousand dollars, all circumstances duly considered. This is one of the handsomest houses of worship and has perhaps the finest organ in the state of Iowa. Father Schulte was the designer of the interior decorations, which reflect great credit upon his artistic taste. The church property covers over fifteen acres of land and is made attractive by gardens and parks, popularly known as the “Garden of Eden”, being situated in Eden township. The buildings include a handsome schoolhouse and parsonage, the latter built in Grecian style of architecture. With consecrated zeal the Very Rev. Mr. Schulte has labored effectively for the spread of Catholicity here, enjoying in an unusual degree the love and cooperation of his parishioners

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