Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church at 303 Keller Ave., North Judson, IN 46366-1209 US - Beginning of the Parish

Original Frame Church

North Judson dates its beginning to 1859, when the P.C.C & St. Louis railroad was built. Not, however, until 1871 were any Catholics found here. The progress of Catholicity was slow, and it was not until 1881, that an effort was made by the Catholics to erect a place of worship. Prior to this, the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood visited the few Catholic families infrequently. Mass was celebrated in a building situated on East Main Street, North Judson's first hotel. Father Dominic was the first priest to have regular services and they were every other Sunday, as he had to journey to North Judson by horse and buggy from Wanatah. He would arrive on Saturday afternoon and stay overnight at the John Komas home, located on Wilson Street, one block south of State Road 10. The site for the church was donated by Louis Keller and his brother Jacob. The edifice was a frame structure with a hip roof, 30 feet wide by 35 feet long, with a small cross on the front. Within a few years, a bell was purchased and placed on two hand-hewn oak posts, about 30 feet high. These structures were in approximately the same spot where the present church now stands. In 1884, Father Frericks was the next priest to serve the parish, also traveling from Wanatah and staying in the Komas home every other Saturday night. The trips were very difficult during the winter, and the bell would be rung to let people know for sure that Mass would be held. Finally, in 1887, Father Casmir Kobylinski became the first resident priest. During his five year stay, Joseph Rozhon and Jacob Jachim with the help of a few other parishioners, erected a steeple over the choir loft to house the church bell. The Church, as it looked then, is pictured above. On Easter Sunday, March 27, 1910, after Mass, the men of the parish began tearing down the frame structure to make room for the present church. During this period, Mass was said in the Koza building at the corner of Sycamore and Lane Streets. Construction of the Present Church

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