St. John the Baptist

The Church of St. John the Baptist, located in Searles, has a history deeply connected to the railroad, a fire during the height of the Great Depression and a church community that works and worships together. 

In 1905, after more than a year of discussion, a congregation decided to build a church. Celebrating Mass in a parish member’s house was becoming too constricting. The name "St. John the Baptist" was chosen after John Reinhart won a wager with Henry Scheibel – the first to raise $1,000 was to name the church.

The first church was functional for more than 30 years. March 30, 1935 was a day that would forever change the church. The furnace malfunctioned and a subsequent fire burned the church to mere ashes. The Blessed Sacrament and the vestments were the only items saved.

The fire did little to deter the parishioners. By September 1935, dignitaries placed the cornerstone for the new church. Parish members celebrated the first Mass Christmas morning 1935. 

In 1936 St. John's opened their own Catholic School staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. In 1968 due to declining enrollment and financial considerations the school consolidated with Holy Trinity Cathedral in New Ulm and became known as Central Catholic Schools. As part of the school system, St. John's taught grades one through four in their school building. In 1999, a new elementry building was erected on the campus in New Ulm, thus ending the long history of Catholic education at St. John's. The school system today is known as New Ulm Area Catholic Schools (NUACS).