Building community, keeping the faith

the long version

"The German Catholic immigrants who founded St. John the Baptist parish on the central Minnesota prairie effected a remarkable transfer of tradition to their new environment. In this study, Fred W. Peterson documents, analyzes, and interprets the community these settlers built between 1858 and 1915. He reveals how their folk culture, aesthetic values, and religious beliefs were directly embodied in the houses, dairy farms, and churches they planned and constructed."--BOOK JACKET. "Building Community, Keeping the Faith is compelling reading for students of architecture, religion, immigration, and ethnicity - indeed for anyone interested in the complex influence European culture exerted on the development of America."--BOOK JACKET.