03/01/2026
This month marks the 130th anniversary of the founding of St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church. The small church located at the corner of Pine and May Street was originally built in the Town of Millston in neighboring Jackson County in 1896 and later moved to Warrens.
According to journal records written in German, St. Andreas (the German spelling of St. Andrew) Parish was organized on March 15, 1896, by a dozen families living in an area known as St. Andrew's Settlement.
The families voted to build a 22- by 40-foot church with the men and older boys doing the construction themselves. Records indicate $100 was spent to purchase the needed lumber.
Among the men who built the church were Andrew Kitzinger, project foreman; Mathias Linder, secretary; John Ibinger, trustee; Joseph Meyer, John Schober, Micheal Kitzinger, John Schuster, Theodore Koebler, Jacob Obermeyer, Joseph Buckner, Adam Birner Sr. and George Gross.
Mr. Linder donated the land for the church. Mr. Koebler reportedly made most of the interior church furnishings including the altar and pews. The money to purchase the lumber was borrowed from H.B. Mills for two years at 10 percent interest.
(The Town of Millston was named in honor of Hugh Brooks Mills, who operated a sawmill and other businesses.)
The promissory note was signed by the men listed above as well as Evangeline Reidel stating that each would pay $10 as the $100 did not cover all the construction costs.
The men intended to have the building finished by Nov. 30, 1896, for the Feast of St. Andrew. But through unforeseen delays, it was nearly the end of December before the church was completed.
On Jan. 20, 1897, a horse-drawn sleigh was sent to Millston to pick up the clergy who traveled by train to officiate over the dedication of St. Andrew's Catholic Church. Rev. Peter Becker of Mauston led the celebration of the Mass. The sermon in German was given by Rev. Peter Schnitzler of Cashton, followed by a sermon in English by Rev. Henry Flock of Sparta. Father Louis Wurst of Tomah also attended.
Following the dedication, the visiting priests were taken to Mr. Linder’s home for food and drink. Later, members of the church arrived for the celebration.
The first services held in the new church were conducted by Father Wurst, pastor of St. Mary's Parish from 1893 to 1924. Father Wurst agreed to say Mass once a month at St. Andrew's Settlement for a stipend of $36. It was recorded that the parish paid him $50 instead.
Over the years, the church was served by priests from Tomah, Black River Falls, Neillsville, Alma Center, Fairchild and other nearby towns, but never more often than monthly and rarely on a Sunday.
In the mid-1930s, the federal government purchased the land where the church stood as part of the Resettlement Administration's effort to move farmers residing on marginal land to more productive areas. After the families in St. Andrew's Settlement relocated, the church stood idle.
The idea of moving the church to Warrens was proposed by the Herman and Rose Villwock family after they moved from St. Andrew's Settlement to Warrens. The couple's son, Ralph, was studying for the priesthood at the time and he found there were 32 Catholic families living in and around Warrens.
La Crosse Bishop Alexander McGavick offered Father John Brudermann, pastor of St. Mary's Church in Tomah, an assistant if he would also serve a mission church at Warrens.
Herman Villwock, John Koebler and Leo Selz Sr. were appointed to a building and moving committee and solicited about $2,000 to finance the venture.
When Ralph Villwock and another seminarian came home from Mr. Calvary Seminary for Christmas vacation in 1939, the two young men along with the members of the building committee and a professional building mover from Wisconsin Rapids undertook the task of relocating the church 12 miles from its original location to Warrens.
The building was moved as far as the railroad tracks in Warrens and had to await clearance from railroad officials to cross the tracks, which happened after Jan. 1, 1940.
A lot for the building at the corner of Pine and May Street was purchased from Ernest Drescher for $50.
The sandstone for the building’s foundation was cut from the quarry that operated in what is now McMullen Memorial County Park west of Warrens. It was noted that Adolph Schroeder, a Lutheran, and Jasper Allen, a Baptist, worked with Mr. Villwock on the foundation.
Others listed as helping get the church ready for use at its new location were George Koebler, John Koebler, Frank Koebler, Andrew Koebler, Alvin Clements, Joe Plunkett, Jack Daley, Joe Vlask, Arnold Jansen, Leo Selz Sr., Ray Davis, William Rattle, Francis “Bud” Rattle and Frank Abbott helped dig the basement for the Church.
Reportedly, Joe Kube Sr. lost a pair of glasses while working in the basement and they presumably are still there in the floor or walls of the church.
Later when the church was ready for use, Frank Abbott would ride three miles on horseback at 4 a.m. from his family’s home to start the fire in the church’s wood furnace. He would also stay an hour after Mass to make sure the fire had gone out.
Later when a coal-burning furnace was installed, Mr. Abbott brought the coal from Tunnel City and carried it into the church basement in bushel baskets. He also cleaned the church, mowed the lawn and did other tasks for 32 years.
The first Mass in Warrens was celebrated in the village’s town hall on March 19, 1939, the Feast of St. Joseph. As the church was being relocated, the parishioners decided to name the church after St. Joseph and that is what was engraved on the cornerstone of the building's new foundation.
However when Bishop McGavick dedicated the church in 1940, he named it St. Andrew the Apostle Church in honor of the families who had originally built the structure.
There are two versions of the story regarding the church’s name. One story is that Bishop McGavick chose to retain the name of the church in honor of the families who built the church in St. Andrew’s Settlement. The other version is that the Bishop simply forgot the intended new name of the church while speaking at the dedication.
Father Villwock, who was ordained in 1948 for the Diocese of Rapid City, is believed to be the only priest son of St. Andrew’s parish. He returned to the church of his childhood to deliver his first sermon. Members of the Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran and Episcopal churches worked together on a Day of Recognition for Father Villwock.
The first couple married in the relocated church were Neoma Rattle of Warrens and Charles Goodenough of Janesville on Nov. 20, 1940. A newspaper article detailing the wedding stated that the ceremony was held in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
In 1963 an addition – which covered up the contradictory cornerstone – was built to accommodate more seating upstairs. A kitchen and restrooms were added to the church basement at the same time. The kitchen was remodeled in the summer of 2014, just in time for the 40th annual Cranfest pancake breakfast.
The all-you-can-eat breakfast has been held since 1974 and features cranberry syrup made by ladies of the parish from locally grown cranberries.
Along with the kitchen remodeling project, proceeds from the pancake breakfast have been used to install new carpeting in the dining room, re-gild the church’s tabernacle and to purchase altar linens and other items needed for the church.
Funds are also used to support the parish’s various mission projects, including donations to Project Milk, a Diocese of La Crosse initiative that supplies powdered milk to thousands of undernourished children in Peru.
In 2015 St. Andrew’s Catholic Church and St. Mary Immaculate Conception Church, Tomah, merged to form Queen of the Apostles Parish. Both churches retain their original names. The inaugural Mass was held June 30 in Tomah with Bishop William Callahan officiating.
Mass at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church is held at 6 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information see the parish’s website at www.queenoftheapostlestomah.com.
