HOFFNUNGSFELD-EDEN ORIGINAL SITE

18th St., from 18^th and Arrowhead Rd, .25 mi. (1284 ft) north, west side of road

SE corner of the

NE ¼ of the

SE ¼ of Section 24, Turkey Creek Township

Mapped by Brian D. Stucky Aug. 17, 2024

On Saturday Aug. 17, I was in the Hopefield area. I had for a number of years seen the sign on 18^th marking the site of the original Hoffnungsfeld-Eden church building. I searched the McPherson County Appraiser’s website to see that the landowner was Duane Wedel. I contacted him and offered to dowse the land to try to pinpoint the church location. He was favorable and interested. The condition of the land was dirt, no crops. Considering the heat of the day, we agreed to meet that evening at 7:30.

I dowsed the site, flagging and measuring what at first appeared to be the outline of the church building. This was located south of the sign, and north of a field driveway. Also, I identified three outhouses to the north, closer to the sign.

South of the church outline I found a simple circle that would indicate a well. 

Upon returning home, I read parts of Jerome Waltner’s book on Eden Church history.  It gave different dimensions and filled in some questions. But there are always more. However, one dimension was the same. One side was 34 ft. Waltner’s measurement matched my dowsing. I now presumed that in dowsing, I followed a tight line, and did not wander far enough from the first outline to explore a wider perimeter.

In discussing the site with Duane Wedel, he noted that there were quite a few small white limestone rocks in the field, no doubt remnants of the foundation. We also noted brown clay tile pieces. Duane also found the deed in his files.  He said his great-grandfather bought the site in 1925. It gives the legal description in rods. I had once questioned if we should search north of the sign, and he said no, we’re looking in the right place.

 So, I returned Monday morning Aug. 19.

I believe I filled in the blanks of my curiosity, to identify the following structures.

1. The church, including porches on east and west ends.
2. Three Mens outhouses north of the church.
3. Some hitching posts for horses, west of the outhouses. This fits Waltner’s description of NW.
4. The well, south of the church.
5. Three Womens outhouses, southwest of the church.

My starting stationary landmark was the north end of the culvert of the field driveway. Most of the measurements will be given from there.

Page 2 will be the map. Page 3 will be the detailed measurements, so someday others may identify the location as well.

Brian D. Stucky

MEASUREMENTS

Point of beginning, the north end of the driveway culvert

CHURCH BUILDING

1. W 16-6            N 34-0 to the SE corner of the church

Church is oriented E-W.    N-S 34-0 and 56-0 E-W

–East front door porch is 4-8 x 21-0. Measuring from the SE corner of the church, 10-5 north is the south edge of the porch.

–West end: There is a rectangle the width of the church, 34-0 N-S, and 8-0 E-W. Whether this is a cement slab, or an addition to the building such as a back room, I don’t know. Others who know the history of the church may better know.

–Beyond the 8 x 34 rectangle is a possible porch, similar to the east end, with the size of

7-3 x 19-10.

–On the south side, there is another rectangle, N-S 7-2, E-W 9-5. Whether this is a slab onto which some infrastructure was built, I don’t know. But it was detected.

–My first pass around the building, I found a rectangle 34-0 N-S, and 24-0 E-W. This line goes through the building N-S.  I am wondering if this is the basement mentioned in Waltner’s book. He said it was not a usable basement, just space for a furnace. 

• MENS OUTHOUSES

People sometimes laugh at the mention that I found outhouses by dowsing. But, of course, wouldn’t you have outhouses, even in the very early days? And, if you find a rectangle with 1,2,3, or 4 circles inside it, what else could it be?  So, I found, measuring from the NE corner of the church,

–N 46-10, W 7-4 to the SW corner of the first outhouse. N-S 8-6, E-W 11-0. 2-hole.

–N 35-9, W 19-2 to the second outhouse. N-S 5-3  E-W 6-3.  1-hole.

–N 32-0, W 36-6 to the third outhouse. N-S 6-3, E-W 7-9.  1-hole.

• HITCHING POSTS FOR HORSES

Waltner suggested hitching posts NW of the church.  I did only minimal searching for these, as there were neighbor’s dogs in the field barking and threatening me. So, I only found five square posts, about 6 inches square, in an E-W line.  From the NE corner of the church:

–N 34-0, W 90-5.

–N 34-0, W 100-10

–N 34-0, W 109-7

–N 34-0, W 116-6

–N 34-0,  W 125-5

• THE WELL

Certainly any gathering spot needed a well. Waltner says it was not installed until 1908. It’s hard to imagine not having a well sooner. Measuring from the north end of the culvert,

–W 46-0, N 7-6 to the center of the well, which was 3-6 in diameter. So, this is about 27 feet south of the building.

• WOMENS OUTHOUSES

Waltner describes the womens outhouses as to the southwest of the church. But, good grief. They are about 60 yards away from the building, over half the length of a football field. They were almost to the south border of the property. I have found in many places, outhouses on the other side of a building or far away from a well, but this is excessive. And, the Mens were only about 20 yards north of the building. There’s a story there to be uncovered.

Measuring from the north end of the culvert

1. S 106-3, W 81-6 to the SW corner of the first outhouse. N-S 6-0, E-W 11-0. 2-hole.
2. S 106-3, W 107-2, to the SW corner of the second. N-S 5-3, E-W 7-0.  2-hole.
3. S 130-0, W 87-8 to the SW corner of the third. N-S 9-8, E-W 12-9. 4 hole. This is unusual. The hole pattern is 2-and-2, like a domino pattern. My guess is, there may have been doors on the north and the south sides.

There are no doubt more stories and information to be gathered about this site, but I hope this gives a good start, and sparks more discussion.  It certainly helped satisfy some of my curiosity.

Brian D. Stucky

 – – – – – – – –

Legal Description from the Deed held by Duane Wedel.

“A tract a parcel of land containing one (1) acre and commencing at a point five (5) rods north of the South East Corner of the North Half (1/2) of the South East Quarter (1/4) of section Twenty-four (24) in Township Twenty-one (21) south, Range Three (3) West of the 6^th P.M.  thence twenty (20) rods South, thence eight (8) rods West, thence twenty (20) rods North, thence eight (8) rods east to the place of beginning.”

The place of beginning here is about .25 mile north of the corner of 18^th and Arrowhead (Moundridge Road). This is near the north end of the culvert where I measured from. 

Gib Burgan has spent countless hours researching cemetery records and information from more than 16 churches to find the graves of immigrants born in Russia who died in US.  He used Betty Graber Hartzler’s database, Vern Schrag’s “Identifying of Swiss-Volhynian Immigrants from Russia 1874”, Jerry Juhnke’s new G&H Project (Genealogical and Historical Project), Harley Stucky’s Ship List, plus Ancestry.com and Find a Grave.  Gib and his wife Kay Krehbiel drove to South Dakota to discover the approximately 230 immigrants buried in Salem Church and Salem Zion Church cemeteries.  

At the 150^th celebration, Gib recognized the Kansas immigrants by placing a medallion on the gravestone with a flag beside it.  The names and locations of these immigrants at Eden, Hopefield, and First Mennonite of Christian are listed in the sheets below so you can visit the graves of your ancestor relatives any time.  Some early burials were marked with a wooden cross that burned or was lost so some burials sites can be longer be found. Nearly 1,000 Swiss Volhynian ancestors are listed in Gib’s book including Swiss Volhynian Mennonites buried at other cemeteries at Pretty Prairie, Kingman, Burns, Halstead, Burrton, Mound Township, McPherson City in Kansas and some in Oregon and Colorado and other states. Contact Gib at hopper4life70@gmail.com if you need specific details. This effort allows us to honor and not forget the very important people who are part of our heritage.