Twin barns at St. Nazianz

Date

• ca. 1939-ca. 1946

Summary

• This 8" x 10" photograph taken sometime between 1939 and 1946 shows an "end view" of twin barns that were constructed just to the north of the village of St. Nazianz, Wisconsin in 1939. The two large barns are joined by a connecting structure at the far end, behind which are visible four cement silos. Between the two center silos is a large billboard painting of a Holstein cow and calf with the name "Colonial Dairy Farms" at the bottom. In the foreground is an unpaved drive leading up to the barns, with a low, open farm truck parked at the head of the drive. A car is parked at the corner of the barn on the left. The Colonial Dairy Farm was owned and operated by the Society of the Divine Savior, known locally as the Salvatorian Fathers. The Salvatorians had started the farm in 1904 to supply food for their community and the students at their Salvatorian Seminary, also located in St. Nazianz. In 1939 an original barn on seminary land was razed to make room for a new building to house a publishing facility, and these new barns were constructed. According to a typed note clipped to this photograph, the dairy barn on the right had room for 85 cows, while the barn on the left was for young stock. St. Nazianz was founded in 1854 as a Catholic communistic community by Father Ambrose Oschwald and 113 settlers from the Black Forest region of Germany. In 1896 remnants of the original "Oschwald Association" merged with the Society of the Divine Savior to effect the first permanent Salvatorian community in the United States. As the Salvatorians flourished in St. Nazianz, they expanded a seminary originally established by Father Oschwald, developed the dairy farm, and operated a publishing business. This photograph was published in "Golden Jubilee 1896-1946, Salvatorian Fathers, St. Nazianz, Wisconsin," printed by Ozaukee Press.