Holy Family Catholic Church

Father Joseph Reisdorff had planted German Catholic colonies before, at Rhineland, Windthorst and Slaton. Here he worked with Tom McCormick, an Irish Catholic whose own attempt at an Irish colony, called Wind, had failed in 1892. The first settlers arrived by September 1902, and the community finished its first church in 1903. When its cemetery was consecrated in 1906, it was the only Catholic cemetery in the area, and for years church officials supplied what little government the town needed. As late as the mid-1980s about 85 percent of residents were Catholic.

What the plaque says

Holy Family Catholic Church The history of Holy Family Catholic Church parallels that of the town of Nazareth. The families of brothers V. A., J. A., and T. P. McCormick and other Irish families came to this area from New York in the early 1890s. The Rev. Joseph Reisdorff arrived in 1902 to establish a Catholic parish. Advertising in German-language newspapers in the U.S. Midwest, he induced many German Catholic families to settle here. Reisdorff named the new town Nazareth. An important part of the area's development, the church remains a focal point of community activities. (1987)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Deaf Smith County Historical Museum — 25 mi
  Hereford's county museum in an early Catholic school: the Windmill City's pioneers, a half-dugout and caboose outside, and work by the Italian prisoners held south of town in the war.

More markers nearby

• Home Mercantile — steps away
• Summerfield-Dameron Corner — 6.3 mi
• Arney School — 9.8 mi
• Castro County — 11 mi