*Post written by Mona Meyer, Archives and Special Collections Metadata Librarian.
If you are from Evansville, or you’ve been here awhile, it’s hard to escape the evidence of a strong German influence. Look at some street names here on the west side: Rosenberger, Boehne Camp, Tekoppel, Helfrich, Eichel. There are two high schools with Reitz as part of their name (admittedly, Memorial High School doesn’t use that, but it is part of the official name). Businesses/schools, etc.: Fligeltaub, Gerst, Bosse (both a high school and a field), Zeidler, Alstadt, and many more. Probably the most “German” thing currently on locals’ radar is the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival. While this is not strictly speaking German, the originators certainly had in mind German Oktoberfests when they set the date….it’s always been in October. Covering some 4 blocks of W. Franklin St. with food booths, this year’s festival, the 103rd, (October 7-14) won’t leave you hungry. Here’s the 2024 Munchie Map!
In the 2000 Census, 42.8 million Americans claimed German ancestry—this was 15.2% of the population. “Between 1800 and the present over seven million German-speakers emigrated to the U.S., the majority of whom arrived between about 1840 and 1914, with the peak period coming in the early 1880s.” In Evansville, a large amount of these immigrants settled in an area west of Pigeon Creek. Transportation infrastructure in those days not being as robust as it is today, the creek served as a barrier, isolating them, at least in part, from other citywide influences. Today Pigeon Creek is easily and often crossed, but the strong sense of German community identification still exists. There are those who will proudly tell you that the west side is the best side! Let’s not pick a dog in that fight, but rather take a look at evidence of this Germanic influence.
Religion was a large part of the Germanic lifestyle, accounting for the many Catholic, Lutheran, and Evangelical churches in Evansville. Services in the German language were critical: some of the older immigrants believed that God only listened to you in German. If your confirmation service was conducted in English, then you were not really confirmed. Holy Trinity Catholic Church was probably the first German Catholic Church in the area, established in the 1840s by John A. Reitz. The church was located at 211 NW 3rd St. According to the Vanderburgh County Historical Society, “the cornerstone was laid in 1849, but a cholera epidemic halted construction. The church was finally completed in 1851 and Holy Trinity parish was born. The church occupied the entire half block of Third St between Court St (originally Division St) and Vine St. … A huge school building was on the corner of Vine which for a time served as the Catholic high school (before Memorial was built). A sister’s home was located behind the school fronting Vine St. A new rectory was built in 1912 on the corner of 3rd and Court which is still standing but hidden by the later addition of the education building. Sadly, after standing for a century the church was struck by lightning Easter Sunday and burned down April 3, 1950.” (Click here for an image of the contemporary church.)
Two other German speaking Catholic churches in Evansville are St. Mary’s, which opened in 1867 and St. Boniface, which was organized in 1880 to serve west side German-speaking Catholics.
Of course, not every German-speaking church goer was Catholic. Trinity Lutheran, located at 1012 W. Illinois St. (originally 119 E. Illinois St.), was established in 1841; the present church (which closed in 2020) was built in 1871. In 1887, Trinity established another Lutheran church on what was then the east side of Evansville at 100 E. Michigan St., St. Paul’s.
Trinity Lutheran Church. RH 033-108, the Local Postcards Collection
St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. RH 033-114, the Local Postcards Collection
A final example of an originally German-speaking church is St. Lucas/St. Luke’s German Evangelical, a.k.a. St. Lucas Evangelical and Reformed. Today this church is St. Lucas United Church of Christ, located at 39 W. Virginia St.
The German influence brought a number of breweries to Evansville, among them the Hartmetz Brewery and F.W. Cook Brewery. Hartmetz dated to 1877; the original brewery was called Schnieder Brewery, founded in 1863 and sold in 1877. F.W. Cook was older–it began as the City Brewery in 1853 and was renamed Cook in 1885 when one of the original partners died. Cook was a huge operation, with an ice house, malt house, stable, and office that covered entire block bounded by 7th (M. L. King Blvd.), Sycamore, 8th, and Main Streets. Cook is also responsible for the oldest park in Evansville. In the 1840s there was a health resort located on an old salt well close to Pigeon Creek; Cook bought this out circa 1895 and expanded it to 117 acres, with a roller coaster, merry-go-round, swimming pool, dance hall, casino, open air cafe, and beer garden. It was on the streetcar line, making it easy to get to and vastly popular with locals. It closed during Prohibition. None of the buildings seen below exist today.
Another large German-owned company was Fendrich Cigar. The Fendrich family–parents and 4 sons, came to the U.S. in 1833. A 5th son was born in this country. They first settled in Maryland where they apprenticed themselves to learn the tobacco trade. They were successful and opened a facility in Maryland and another in Pennsylvania, before expanding to Evansville in 1855. The first factory opened that year on Main Street, but burned in 1910. It was rebuilt on Oakley Street (near Willard Library) in 1912, the largest cigar factory under one roof. Fendrich closed in 1969, and Berry Plastics took over the plant. It is believed that parts of Fendrich still exist within Berry Plastics, but the expansion of the plastics operation makes this difficult to verify. Although not pictured here, the house built for owner John H. Fendrich (the American born son) in 1916-7 still stands at 827 SE 1st St.
Working in a cigar factory was a good option for women at a time when jobs outside the home were scarce. For the hand work of rolling and wrapping cigars, it was believed that their smaller hands enabled them to do a better job.
Germans brought more than their industry with them to this country–they also introduced facets of their culture. One of these was the Turnverein (German turnen, “to practice gymnastics,” and Verein, “club, union”), these clubs also focused on physical fitness. This was often anglicized as “Turners.” Evansville had a Central Turners that was established in 1853, but met in rented locations until they purchased an old church in 1908 and razed it to build their own facility at 720 SE 8th St.
The building is gone and Central Turners no longer exists in Evansville. Its wider influence on physical fitness is seen in these images of Field Day, a large, yearly event where students from the local schools would put on a performance featuring music, dance, patriotic displays and calisthenics for the Evansville public.
Another cultural influence is the love of music, particularly singing by men’s choirs. Men’s chorus in German is Männerchor. If you’re local, or have been in Evansville for any period of time, this surely reminds you of the Germania Männerchor, located at 916 N. Fulton Ave. According to its website, “Germania Männerchor was founded in 1900 by a group of individuals dedicated to sharing their passion with others. Based in Evansville, we are an active and enthusiastic German Men’s Chorus with events and activities taking place year-round. We like to keep up the energy and excitement, always welcoming new members to take part. Simply put, we love getting together to do what we love.” (There is also a women’s chorus, or Damenchor.)
German Day was organized by the city’s German elite around 1890 to celebrate German cultural, intellectual, and technological achievements. After the 4th of July, this was the most prominent civic celebration each year until WWI ended it. Germania Maennerchor’s Volksfest (people’s festival), a celebration with food, drink, and activities, is a reminder of those times.
The German influences in Evansville are myriad….this blog could go on forever! The Clemens Reitz sawmill. Henry F. Kersting grocery. Heilman Plow, originally owned by William Heilman and Christian Katz, later called Vulcan Plow and owned by Albert Rosencranz. Igleheart Brothers flour mill. Lindenschmidt Foundry. The butcher shop owned by Ernst Bohnsack. A furniture company, high school, and baseball field owned by/named for Evansville mayor Benjamin Bosse (1914-1922). Evansville’s first German speaking mayor, John Henry Dannettell (1886-1889). Frederick Lauenstein, publisher of a local German language newspaper, the Demokrat. Strouse’s Department Store….
You might also wish to read an earlier (November 4, 2019) blog entitled “Sprechen Sie Deutsch? to learn what it was like at a time when being German or having a German heritage was NOT a positive experience.
For further information on German Evansville, please consult some of these resources:
Adams, Willi Paul. The German-Americans: An Ethnic Experience. Indianapolis: Max Kade German-American Center, 1993. UASC Collection E184.G3 A3413 1993
Bigham, Darrel E. Reflections on a Heritage: The German Americans in Southwestern Indiana. Booklet published by Indiana State University Evansville [now USI], May 1980. Now available online via the EVPL Digital Archive. Paper copy also available in UASC with this call number: F534.E9 B57
Evansville German Club/Germania Maennerchor website.
“The History of Evansville’s West Side.” The Evansville Boneyard website.
Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin Madison: How German is American? Specific sections: Settling in America, Building Communities, Growing into the Nation, Shaping Culture
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