HISTORY

in depth

 Beginning in the late 1800s and continuing into the early 1900s, German immigrants began to make their way to America in hopes of finding political and religious freedom as well as economic opportunities. Among those immigrants was Heinrich Engelbrecht and his wife Wilhelmine and their children. The family settled near present day Prairie Chapel in 1885. During this time, most immigrants were of Lutheran or Catholic faith, but what set the Prairie Chapel community a part was their Baptist faith. Meeting for worship in local homes, the community decided they needed a church in their new homeland. On October 25th, 1891, in the home of Heinrich Engelbrecht, Canaan Baptist was organized. A 30 by 50-foot wooden structure church was built in 1894 on land donated by Engelbrecht. 

A schoolhouse was already present once German immigrants began to arrive in the early 1900s. Irish people were sparsely located in the area and had established the school in 1879. The first school was a one room building located next to Canaan Baptist Church. However, problems arose with the adjacent Osage School District and the Prairie Chapel school was moved to the field across the street on land donated by Charlie Mattalage. Henrich and Charlie agreed upon a “land swap” in order to supply a plot of land for the new school. In 1908 the building was moved  on to Prairie Chapel Road, where it is presently located. As Prairie Chapel’s student enrollment continued to grow, 1913 was the first year for the state to provide schoolbooks and a second room was added to the schoolhouse. Finally, a third room was added in 1926, but had been removed by Crawford ISD during World War II. At the time of war, lumber was sparse and Crawford ISD used the lumber of Prairie Chapel to build a new lunch room. At its peak, Prairie Chapel enrolled about 70 students. Students were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, history, and geography. German speaking students had to learn English since all classes were taught in English, however supportive parents recognized the need for their children to know the homeland language. 

Some students walked over 4 miles one way to get to school, making cold and rainy days a hassle. The first school bus appeared in 1929. Len Weiss lived on a farm about 4 miles from Prairie Chapel and built a bus body on a Model A Ford and for $65 a month, transported students to and from school. 

Students would finish eight years of schooling at Prairie Chapel and then some would transfer to Crawford to continue their education. In 1939, Prairie Chapel consolidated with Crawford and the doors were closed. The schoolhouse then became a local democratic voting box and acted as a meeting place for the local chapter of Germania Farm Mutual Aid Association.