Catharine Explorations
Learn more about Catharine by following the links below:
Catherine SchoolAddress:
2131 St. Anton Street
About this Exploration:
The first school house
(School District #4) in Catharine was built in 1879 and was made of native
limestone. Prior to that, lessons were taught at the home of Jacob Schmidt "Der
Schulmeister" (the schoolmaster).
He was a teacher in Katharinenstadt, Russia and continued that role in
Catharine. The small stone school house
(46x23 feet) was used as a public school until 1897 when it was changed to a parochial
school after the parish purchased it from the public school district. A few
years later, this one room school was becoming too crowded and the current two-story limestone structure located just north of the church was completed in
1902. It was erected at a cost of $4,238
and for 33 years operated as a parochial school. In 1935 the school changed
back to a public school for 1st grade through 8th grade. The Catharine School Board
met in March 1965 with the Hays School Board and discussed consolidating with
Hays School District #489. With the formal consolidation on July 1, 1966,
Catharine retained ownership of the school building and in 1968 the seventh and
eighth grade classes began attending at the Junior High School in Hays. It
continued to operate as the Catharine Elementary School until 1972 when the
property was sold for $1 to the Unified School District 489. Due to declining enrollment and budget issues, the Hays School District officially closed the school on
August 1, 1999 and the and the building was deeded
back to the parish.
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Pam Schmidt
P.O. Box 61
Catharine, KS 67627 Phone: 785.628.2910 Glenda Schuetz
1316 E. 22nd St.
Hays, KS 67601-2301 Phone: 785.625.5478 / 785.650.1746 Greg Schmidt
P.O. Box 61
Catharine, KS 67627 Phone: 785.628.2910 |