Big Church, Small Town
This article is from the 2013 edition of the RCHS Winter Newsletter. RCHS is working to share more of our content digitally.
In the small, unincorporated community of Veseli, there is a magnificent Catholic church. The Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church may seem oversized for such a small community, but it was just the perfect size when it was built. In 1905 when the cornerstone was laid for the current church building, the community was growing and it looked as if Veseli’s prosperity would continue.
The location for the village of Veseli and its church, in section 10 of Wheatland Township, was selected by the Catholic priest from New Prague. A Catholic church in the area had been requested by local Czech settlers. Those early Catholic settlers had to walk eight miles to New Prague, through thick woods, to get to church. They wanted a church closer to home.
The Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church congregation was organized on March 1, 1874. The land for the church was donated by four farmers: Thomas Lapic (15 acres), Joseph Trnka (5 acres), Jan Ziska (15 acres), and Vojtech (Albert) Lamac (5 acres). The total land donated was 40 acres. The first church building built of logs. Father Honorat Povolny and Father Roman Kimel, the priests in New Prague, served the Veseli congregation.
A bigger, second church building was begun in 1875 and was completed in 1878. By 1882, there were 225 families recorded as member of the church. By 1901, 300 families were listed as members with a total of 1,100 people. There were 73 children attending the Most Holy Trinity parochial school in 1901.
The village of Veseli grew with the church. A post office was opened on July 1, 1879, with Albert Wasejpher as postmaster. A plat of the town was created in 1880 and officially recorded in 1882. By 1889, Veseli had 400 residents. It also boasted saloons, general stores, a blacksmith shop, harness shop and brewery.
The village was incorporated in 1898. The prosperity of Veseli changed dramatically in 1903. The railroad, which the Veseli residents had hoped would come through their town, chose to go through the newly formed community of Lonsdale. Businesses began to close and the incorporation of the town was dissolved sometime in the early part of the 20th century.
Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church and School, however, continued to flourish through the decades. A 1959 Faribault Daily News article stated that 114 students were attending Mostly Holy Trinity School in grades 1-8. Today school children from the congregation attend Holy Cross Catholic School in rural Webster, a combined effort of Catholic congregations in Veseli, Lonsdale and New Market.
The church building is known as an architectural landmark for its brick exterior and Italian Romanesque interior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
—Pauline Schreiber, RCHS Board Member and Volunteer