Historic St. Clara Community
Recently I was asked to do an article detailing the history of the Catholic Cemetery’s Crucifixion Station as well as the Saint Clara Community.
I explained that I had done an article on the subject in 2019. They were from out of state and said that they did not get the Herald Record newspaper, but that they were now going to subscribe to it immediately. They wanted to know if I would run the article again for them and I agreed. If you have already read this article, thank you for your understanding.
We begin our story by traveling on Route 18 south until you reach the sign pointing you to the exit turning to the left. It is just a short distance until you arrive at the historic community of St. Clara. You will soon come to the intersection of Route 29 and Little Buck Run. The Krenn School (an amazing one-room school which remains intact) is in view and as soon as you turn right, you’ll see the school there on the left.
Krenn School at St. Clara
It is significant to Doddridge County because it is one of the two last one-room schools that are still intact with interior furnishings that exists in all of Doddridge County (the other one is Upper Buckeye Community School). While there are others still standing, none are as complete with maps above the blackboard, flip-up student chairs and desks, the alphabet still runs along the top of the blackboard and the teacher’s desk is still sitting there with an empty chair just waiting for Mr. Brown to bring the school into session.
The school was built with local labor and materials in the spring and summer of 1897 on about one-fourth acre of land that was purchased by the Cove District Board of Education, Doddridge County, WV. It was purchased from John and Adeline Krenn at St. Clara. Thus, it was given the name Krenn School. There were 39.6 poles in the plot. The deed which is recorded in the Doddridge County Courthouse is dated December 22, 1896. The purchase price was twenty-five dollars.
Joseph Krenn and his family
The first term of school opened in the fall of 1897 and continued as a one-room elementary school until the spring of 1942 when the school closed due to low enrollment. The Board of Education granted the community of St. Clara use of the building for its regular monthly meetings.
The community was organized in 1939 and has continued regular meetings there since that time.
The St. Clara community is one of the few communities that was deliberately attempted to be colonized in western Virginia. It was promoted by the self-proclaimed aristocrat, Joseph H. Diss Debar who was the state’s first Commissioner of Immigration and the designer of the West Virginia State Seal.
Due to the efforts of Joseph H. Diss Debar, St. Clara was settled by the Lutheran and Catholic immigrants from Germany and Austria during the mid-eighteen hundred. The discovery of oil and gas in the region made St. Clara become a booming little village during the first decade of the century.
The following is a list of some of the students who attended the Krenn School: Mary Brown, Lawrence Brown, Thelma Brown, Rita Schulte, Russell Bush, Bonnie Bush, George Costilow, La Greta Black, Nelson Cox, Gladys Cole, Esta Dalton, Glenda Gamsjager, Velma Schmidt, John and Wanda Droppleman, Raymond and Elizabeth Droppleman, Henry Ray and Norma Gamsjager, Paul Groah, and Charlotte Cole.
Teachers who taught there through the years were: John Brown-1897-1902, Arden Hayes -1902-1903, Lawrence Shearer- 1903-1905, J. Henry Schmidt- 1905-1906, Laura Brown-1906-1907, Anges Severin-1907-1908, Bessie Bush-1909-1910, Grace Fahey-1910-1911, Ida Richards 1911-1912, Mamie Cole-1912-1916, Faye Smith-1916-1917, Gay Smith-1917-1919, Agnes Severin-1919-1920, Lizette Cole -1920-1921 (2 months. In Spring), Laura Gray-1921-1922, Ruth Steetle-1922-1923, Agnes Severin -1923-1924, Agnes Heater- 1924-1925, Margaret Heflin-1925-1926, Agnes Heater -1926-1927, Forest Spurgeon-1927-1928, Maple Nutter-1928-1929, Nellie Kenney-1929-1930, Wilma Rastle-1930-1931, Nina Gray-1931-1932, Wilma Rastle-1932-1933, Regina Droppleman-1933-1934, Wilma Hinter-1934-1935, Gladine Hinterer-1937-1941, Freda Hinter-1952-1952 (Sept-Nov).
In 1922, the Krenn School was upgraded to “modern standards” for rural elementary schools of the time. These upgrades included the four windows on the east wall being moved to the back, or southern exposure to provide better lighting. A fifth window was also added to the grouping. During the 1922 renovation, the length of the building was extended by 5 and ½ feet. The cloak rooms were partitioned off on each side of the entrance door leaving a hallway with access to the cloak rooms on the on the right and left and to the main room directly in line with the entrance door. Two windows flanking the original entrance door were added at the time.
It was during the 1922 renovation that the stone foundation replaced the original open foundation of low stone piers, and a sloping roofed porch was added replacing a small unroofed platform roof. A sign with the words “St. Clara Community” is still centered in the gable. It was painted by Mary Schmidt and placed there about 1956. This has been the only major change in the building’s one hundred and twenty-three years of existence.
The Krenn School was listed on the National Registry of Historical Places in 1989. It is now the property of the Doddridge County Historical Society, who allows the community of St. Clara to continue to use the building for community purposes.
In 1990, the first Krenn School Reunion was held. Hazel Wysong was the president. Priscilla Schulte secretary. The reunions continued for several years. Sadly, nearly all those wonderful people have passed to the great beyond and live today in our memories.
Krenn School Reunion
Your next stop should be the Catholic Church nestled a short distance up the road. The Crucifixion Statue in their cemetery quite honestly takes your breath away. It seems to just appear out of nowhere. It is worth taking the time to observe the realistic expressions on each of their faces.
St. Clara Catholic Church Statue
The history of its arrival from France is a fascinating one. It all began when Father Delaux was pastoring this small country church, St. Clara’s Catholic Church between 1906 and 1922. While Father Delaux was visiting in France, he purchased this amazing life-sized statue of Jesus Christ nailed on the cross. Undaunted at the task of getting it across the ocean and overland for a thousand plus miles. He just purchased it and made the necessary arrangements to have it shipped to America.
The statue was sculptured from iron and was covered in bronze. It weighed 1,000 pounds. At the foot of the statue is the virgin Mary (Jesus’ mother), Mother Mary’s sister, Mary of Clopas, and His disciple, Mary Magdalene looking up in horror for what had been done to this Prince of Peace.
After the priceless statue reached America, it was placed on a Baltimore and Ohio freight train and brought to the Long Run Depot. From the Long Run Depot, a dozen men with four teams of horses hauled the statue over the dirt roads to St. Clara. The trip took them two days, but they finally arrived with the statue in perfect condition.
If you have a free afternoon (or if you don’t… make one), make the trip to St. Clara to visit the statue. You’ll be so impressed with not only the all inspiring statue, but also the quiet peaceful setting which surrounds it.
While you’re there, take the time to visit the other historic church, St. Johannes Evangelical Lutheran Church which is just a short distance away.
Don’t forget to stop by and have a look at the Krenn School which was built for the St. Clara community children in 1897. As you take a look at it, remember that this little one-room school served the citizens of the small hamlet until it was closed in 1942.
The school is now owned by the D.C. Historical Society, but the St. Clara community has been given permission by the Historical Society to use it as a community meeting place since it was closed as a school. The Doddridge County Historical Society recently completely rewired Krenn School in order to ensure its safety when being used.
All of these historic sites are worth your time to visit. So, take an afternoon and go for a leisurely drive along a path that leads to yesterday, and if only for a short moment in time, you’ll be glad you did.
God Bless
Patricia Harris, President
Doddridge County Historical Society
304 873-1540
