JH Dis Debar‘s Homesite
St. Clara Community & Surrounding Area
St. Clara is a small rural community with enormous historical significance. It is located about 17.6 miles from West Union. It is 850 feet above sea level. Its GPS coordinates are 39.121506, -80.686813.
J. H. Diss Debar established the small community of St. Clara in honor of his 1st wife, Clara. He is said to have drawn the most accurate map of Doddridge County. It was highly prized by officials of the county. Unfortunately, it was destroyed when the Courthouse burned in the fire of 1898.
Doddridge County has always been proud of the fact that Joseph Hubert Diss Debar, a resident of this county, designed the great seal that is on our WV State flag and coat of arms. He has accomplished many things during his adventurous lifetime. He was born on March 6, 1820, in Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France. He was the estate manager for Cardinal Prince de Rohan. He was hired by John Peter Dumas in 1846 as a land agent over 10,000 acres of land located in Cove District, Doddridge County.
After the death of his beloved young wife, Clara, who died in childbirth in Parkersburg, WV, Diss Debar moved to Doddridge County and settled the tract of land we now know as St. Clara. He was also the WV State Commissioner of Immigration, but, let us get back to the history of St. Clara and to the beginning.
In 1846 J. H. Diss Debar came to West Union. He was but a young man of enormous ambition. As I previously stated, he came to America as a representative for a land company overseeing 10,000 acres.
To obtain settlers for that area presented a problem, although the land was filled with game and virgin forest, the hillsides were steep, and the valleys were narrow. He knew that a colony of Germans had come to America and settled in Illinois, and others were on the way. When these people reached the coast of North America, Debar was there to meet them. He had a map of the syndicate’s land in western Virginia and circulars showing the Hughes River as navigable and a railroad running through the land. The nearest railroad was in Parkersburg. The settlers, lured by Debar, had to walk all the way from Parkersburg. Many were disappointed and left. Those who remained were Jacob Ruppert, Henry Schmidt, and Henry Shafer.
A few years later, probably about 1850, came the second colony consisting of the Kreyenbuhl, Wineburg, Vanbert, Gamsgagger, Detterman, and Albert families. The third addition to this colony arrived in 1865. This addition included the Krenn, Rastle, and Hinter families.
In 1848 Diss Debar married the young French lady, Clara Lenassor who was then living with her parents in Cincinnati. She died in 1849 at the age of nineteen during childbirth, leaving a son seven weeks old. For reasons unknown, the infant child went to live with the mother’s parents in Cincinnati.
In 1852, Diss Debar built a home in the settlement. The house was located about eighteen miles south of West Union and is known as the Joe Hinter farm.
When the settlement became prosperous enough to have a Post Office, it was named for his wife, Clara, whom he thought of as a Saint. Thus, the whole settlement including all the land of the syndicate was called St Clara for the time. The name now applies only to a small community where the Post Office was moved. The site of the original St. Clara Post Office became Leopold.
Having colonized the community, Diss Debar turned his attention entirely to the field of politics.
In 1845, Diss Debar drew a picture of a hunting party and gave it to his friend Henry Schmidt, one of the first settlers. This historic sketch hangs in the WV State Capitol. You can see the damage in the upper left corner. The original hangs in the entry room of the Doddridge County Historical Society Museum, where it is treasured by the Society.
Diss DeBar’s sketch of “Hunting on Tanner’s Fork
In 1875, J. H. Diss Debar’s official connections with West Virginia ceased. He died at the age of 85 at Philadelphia and was buried there.
That takes us to some of the surrounding area’s history. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy landmarks not only in the area but within the boundary of this county is the life-size statue of the Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ located in the St. Clair Catholic Church Cemetery.
The Crucifixion Statue in the St. Clair Cemetery story began when Father Delaux was pastoring this small country church, St. Clair’s Catholic Church between 1906 and 1922. While Father Delaux was visiting 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 was said to have weighed approximately 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 near Salem. From the Long Run Depot, a dozen men with four teams of horses hauled the statue over the dirt roads to St. Clara. The journey took two days to complete, but they finally arrived with the statue in perfect condition and the rest is history.
Christ on the Cross at the Cemetery
St. Clair Catholic ChurchIf you have a free afternoon, make the trip to St. Clara to visit the statue. If you don’t have the time, it is worth making the time for the visit. You’ll be so impressed with not only the all-inspiring statue but also the quiet peaceful setting which surrounds it. (Cemetery Coordinates: 39.12580, -80.70470). While you’re there, take the time to visit another amazing historic church, St. Johannes Evangelical Lutheran Church which is located about 18 miles south of West Union not far from St. Clair Catholic Church. St. Johannes Evangelical Lutheran Church was established on December 26, 1852.
St. Johannes Evangelical Lutheran Church
Another landmark worth your visit is the Krenn School which is located at the intersections of Co. Rt. 29 and 66. It was built for the St. Clara community children in 1897. The Krenn School is 35 feet long and 24 feet wide and is approximately 19 feet high. The foundation stones were cut by local stonemasons.
The school was updated in 1922. It was at this time that the four windows on the east wall were moved to the back of the southern side to provide better lighting. A fifth window was also added. The length of the school was also extended by five and a half feet. Cloakrooms were partitioned off on each side of the entrance door. Two windows flanking the original door were also added.
Krenn School
Inside the school, the original gaslights are still intact including the original glass blobs. Electric lights were installed during the late 1930s. The original gas stoves are still installed. There are 21 student desks still in the original rows laid out by the last teacher to teach the students. The original maps still hang at the front of the classroom above the slate chalkboard.
This little one-room school is the only well-preserved one of its kind that remains in Doddridge County and for that reason alone is worthy of protection. Krenn School served the citizens of the small hamlet until it was closed in 1942.
The school is currently owned by the D.C. Historical Society as the result of a decision made by the Doddridge County Board of Education meeting held on January 2, 1988, to sell the property. The board agreed to postpone the decision. Thanks to the support of the local community, the Doddridge County Commissioners serving at that time, and the Doddridge County Historical Society, the Krenn School was saved. The Doddridge County Historical Society has given the St. Clara community permission to use it as a community meeting place since it gained possession of it.
In closing, I feel that it is important to say that the St. Clara community was the result of a deliberate attempt by Joseph H Diss Debar to colonize western Virginia, which makes it even more unique. This fact places St. Clara in a special rare group of communities.
It is so crucial that we all do our part to preserve as many of our historic landmarks as possible. Communities across this nation are working aggressively to convince those in public office and in power of the often-unrealized value of preserving our history and incorporating the strength and wisdom of that history into our present to advance and improve our future. If only our county officials could see the importance of these historic treasures. We are given only one opportunity to preserve and protect it. That time is now, when and if we fail, we all lose, and we are all the poorer for it.
God Bless.
Patricia Richards Harris