Holy Family Catholic Church in Odin, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
Odin, Kansas, is an extinct town on Cow Creek in the northeastern part of Barton County. It is also a census-designated place. As of the 2020 census, the population was 87, and its total area was 4.0 square miles.
The Catholic community at Odin began in about 1870 when the first Moravian settlers came from Odin, Illinois. Joseph Goetzel, considered the father and founder of the parish, was a native of Monrovia, Austria (later Czechoslovakia.) While many of the original settlers sold out and moved on after a few years, Goetzel stayed and encouraged many of his fellow countrymen to immigrate and settle in the area.
In 1874, a large group led by John Seus immigrated from Europe to begin a new life in Odin. Many left their homes for a fresh start in Kansas due to strikes, unemployment, and hard times in Austria.
Initially, Odin residents attended Mass and received sacraments at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, north of Ellinwood, about 11 miles to the southeast.
A post office was established on May 21, 1877.
The first church, St. Mary’s, at Odin, was built in 1878 by Father Hundhausen, resident pastor at St. Joseph Church in Ellinwood, who came to Odin once a month on a Thursday to celebrate Mass in John Seus’s home. At that time, the community had a general store operated by Philip Smith. The nearest shipping point was Ellinwood, 15 miles distant, from which the mail was delivered weekly to Susan Smith, the postmistress.
Catholic education began in 1879 in a room in John Seus’ home.
After John Seus donated ten acres, the community constructed a small frame church, St. Mary’s.
Church Rectory in Odin, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
In 1881, Father Werner Emmerich was appointed the first resident pastor. He built the rectory, the first school, and started building the new church in 1893. The limestone for the church was quarried nine miles northeast of Odin and hauled by parishioners.
Father Heinmann was appointed in 1896 and completed the new $30,000 stone church. He changed the parish name from St. Mary’s to Holy Family, and the church was dedicated on May 23, 1899.
The post office closed on February 14, 1906.
Father Heiman also began building a $20,000 school, completed in 1908 and managed by the Sisters of St. Dominic.
In 1910, Odin’s mail was distributed by rural route from Claflin, the nearest shipping point. The town had a population of 30.
By 1912, the school had 80 children attending, and there were over 100 families in this prosperous parish.
In addition to the grade school, several early attempts were made at starting a Catholic high school.
Odin, Kansas church, gym, parish hall, and school in 1954. The gym and school are gone today.
In 1930, the school added a class each year until the state-accredited Holy Family High School.
The post office was re-established on September 1, 1950.
Odin, Kansas store by Kathy Alexander.
Holy Family High School operated until 1872. The parish grade school was discontinued in 1974.
The post office closed for a final time on August 19, 1995.
From 1881 to 1991, 13 pastors served the community. St. John the Evangelist Parish in Hoisington now serves the parish.
Today, the Central Plains USD 112 public school district in Claflin, Kansas, serves the community’s students. The town still boasts the active Holy Family Catholic Church, several homes, and a general store.
Odin is located 15 miles northeast of Great Bend, the county seat, and seven miles northwest of Claflin.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, December 2024.
Parish Hall in Odin, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
Also See:
Sources:
1878 Gazetteer and Business Directory, R.L. Polk & Co., Chicago, IL.
Biographical history of Barton County, Kansas Illustrated; Great Bend Tribune, Great Bend, KS, 1912.
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Immaculate Conception & Holy Family Churches
Wikipedia