Westphalia, Michigan

Westphalia, Michigan
Village
Village of Westphalia
Location within Clinton County
Westphalia Location within the state of Michigan Westphalia Location within the United States Show map of MichiganShow map of the United StatesShow all
Coordinates: 42°55′43″N 84°47′52″W / 42.92861°N 84.79778°W / 42.92861; -84.79778Coordinates: 42°55′43″N 84°47′52″W / 42.92861°N 84.79778°W / 42.92861; -84.79778
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Clinton
Township	Westphalia
Founded	1836
Government [1]
• Type	Village council
• President	Dean Kohagen
• Clerk	Sandy Smith
Area [2]
• Total	1.13 sq mi (2.92 km2)
• Land	1.10 sq mi (2.84 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2)
Elevation	761 ft (232 m)
Population  (2010)[3]
• Total	923
• Estimate  (2019)[6]	933
• Density	850.50/sq mi (328.37/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	48894
Area code(s)	989
FIPS code	26-86120[4]
GNIS feature ID	1616225[5]
Website	Official website

A Michigan State Historic Site plaque honoring Westphalia

Westphalia is a village in Clinton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 923 at the 2010 census. The village is within Westphalia Township about 25 miles (40.2 km) northwest of Lansing.

History[]

St. Mary Catholic Church

Westphalia’s first settlers arrived in the Port of New York on October 5th, 1836 aboard the Leontine from their long journey which began in the port of Bremen, Germany. They had traveled to Bremen by land from their home in Sauerland in the western part of Germany. These first few settlers were Father Anton Kopp, Westphalia’s pioneer priest, and the Eberhard Platte family. By way of the Erie Canal, they landed in Detroit on the 25th of that same month.

Taking the advice of Father Martin Kundig of St. Mary's Parish in Detroit, Father Kopp and Eberhard Platte set out on foot for the newly established land office in the town of Ionia. The two men traveled on foot to Ionia by Dexter Trail, passing through present day cities and towns such as Ann Arbor, Dexter, Chelsea, Stockbridge, Mason, Lansing, and DeWitt. After arriving at the office on November 4th and waiting six days, they were able to make a purchase of land in Section 5 of Westphalia Township.  Five others:  Anton Cordes, Joseph Platte, John Hanses, William Tillmann and John Salter, were waiting in Lyons for Father Kopp and Mr. Platte. These five had also made their way along the Dexter Trail from Detroit, while the rest of their families remained in Detroit. A hired trapper and trading post operator guided the settlers to their land-holdings.

They named the settlement Westphalia in memory of their German homeland and began immediately to prepare the land for farming....This land had been considered worthless by the land speculators, but the settlers knew that the swampy and heavily forested land was a sign of good soil, and they were correct, as Westphalia is a thriving farming community to this day... More than 300 families immigrated to Westphalia between then and 1924 and a great majority of those who reside here today are their descendants.

Emigrants to Westphalia came from almost every state of present day western Germany. Early settlers came from Bavaria and the Sauerland, but later settlers came from all over Germany, as well as Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Ireland. Most were from the middle-class who had acquired a trade of some sort, like blacksmithing, masonry, carpentry, or shoemaking.

The first wave of emigrants, who arrived in 1836-1860, did not flee from religious persecution. They were escaping the depressing feudal-like political system. After the overthrow of Napoleon in 1815, the great powers of Europe rearranged the map of Europe, and the Rhineland area in Germany became part of Prussia. The Germans struggled under this political system and longed for peace and order, which was not fulfilled by this system. Later emigrants, from 1871-1885, did come to America to escape the religious persecution of Catholics in Germany.

The German Catholic parish was established almost immediately after the settlers first arrived. After buying the land, Father Kopp traveled back to Detroit. On November 19th, the day after he arrived back in Detroit, Father Kopp visited Bishop Friedrich Reese and was assigned the new German parish. This appointment has great significance, "It was the beginning of the rural Catholic Church in Michigan," wrote Father Kopp in his journal. He returned back to his assigned parish in September of 1837 and celebrated Masses in the homes of the settlers. In March of 1838 a two-room log house built for Kopp, which also served as the first church, was completed. Father Kopp stayed in Westphalia for five years until he left for his new assignment at St. Mary's in Detroit.^[7]

Notable Events[]

Fire in the Church[]

According to St. Mary Church, on the afternoon of April 20, 1959 a cry spread through the town and the surrounding farms: "Fire in the Church!"

Suddenly, farmers, miles from Westphalia, saw smoke curl from the roof of the stately structure, a landmark that had served as the center of Westphalia life for nearly a century. Area residents flocked to the smoke-filled church, at first unable to believe the tragedy that was taking place. Defying the smoke, scores of local men, women and boys ran into the church and started carrying out anything that could be moved. Making trip after trip, they moved statues, furniture and vestments.

Father Aloysius Miller and his assistant, Father Robert Stockwell, carried out the Blessed Sacrament, chalices, and the other holy vessels used at Mass. Twelve men were needed to carry the pulpit from the burning church. Then all they could do was watch helplessly as flames crawled along the wooden beams between the metal ceiling and the copper roof. There was no doubt about the cause of the fire. The Lansing contractor repairing the eaves had been using a blowtorch as he worked. The torch ignited the dry studdings of the roof at about 2:50 p.m.

The Westphalia Fire Department arrived at the scene within minutes, and calls for additional aid were answered by fire-fighting units from St. Johns, Lansing, Fowler, Pewamo, Portland and Grand Ledge. Almost from the start it was a losing battle for the nearly 100 firemen. Although confined to the one side of the roof for a short time, the flames swept through the heavy timber beams and soon spread to all sides of the copper-covered roof. Using the aerial ladder unit from Lansing, firemen tried to contain the blaze by hacking holes in the roof and pouring in water, but the flames out-raced them.

The hands of the belfry clock stopped at 3:05 as the power to the church was cut off. Several residents noted in a photo taken for the Westphalia Centennial book in 1936, that the hands also shoved 3:05. The raging flames, tinged green from the copper roofing, broke through the belfry louvers at 4:40 p.m. Then, as many in the growing crowd wept, the fire consumed the 165-foot steeple. Weeping bystanders and weary firemen waited anxiously to see which way the towering steeple would fall. If it tumbled forward, it would hit St. Mary's Rectory, the priests' residence, where all the parish records were kept. If the steeple fell to the north, it would hit the school.

At 5:00 p.m., as though in answer to a prayer, the giant steeple swayed forward, hesitated, and miraculously shifted position. With a roar, the steeple crashed to the ground in an almost upright position amid an explosion of flames, carrying down with it the three huge bells that for generations had signaled weddings, deaths, and church services. One of the bells weighed more than a ton.

Adding to the awesome task of fighting the blaze was a wind that fanned the flames toward the front of the church. Once the flames had reached the steeple, firemen knew the battle was lost and concentrated on saving the other parish buildings. At the height of the fire, flames were visible at the Lansing airport, 25 miles away, and attracted a crowd in excess of 1,800 people, causing traffic jams.

Even as the flames blazed inside the high brick walls of the church and firemen watered down nearby buildings, Father Miller and members of the parish began preparing the Parish Hall for Sunday Masses. The hall served as the parish church for three years.

Before it burned, the impressive brick church was the largest church in Clinton County and among the largest in the State. The seating capacity was 800. The church was begun in 1867 under the pastorship of Father George Godez, successor to the founder of St. Mary's Parish, Father Anton Kopp. The bricks for the church were made in the Westphalia brickyard, a project that provided work for many Westphalians at the time. The interior finish of the church and the pews were made of black walnut from the trees in the hardwood forests surrounding the town.

Built at a total cost of $70,000.00, the old church was dedicated in 1870. Improvements were made steadily through the years and the church came to be known as one of the most beautiful in the State. The cherished building with its towering steeple stood for 92 years as a monument to the religious spirit of the Westphalia community. Families baptized their babies in the church, later saw them marry in the church and when death came, the family funerals were held in the church.^[8]

1985 Bank Robbery[]

On Friday March 29, 1985 at about 10:00 in the morning the Maynard Allen State Bank was robbed. Present at the time was Harvey Hoskins, bank manager; Dorothy Hattis, assistant bank manager; tellers Marie Pohl and Clara Smith; customers Dan Fedewa and his 5 year old son, Matt.

The bank had received a call about two weeks earlier advising them to be on the lookout for "Mutt and Jeff". They had robbed the bank in Clarksville and Lyons earlier and were assumed to still be in the area.

Clara was in the vault doing some filing and did not notice them right away. The robbers had a bag and had the tellers put money in it. Then they were all herded into the vault. The vault door was closed but not locked; they were told not to leave for 10 minutes. Harvey and Dorothy said the FBI was there within the half hour. The State Police, Clinton County Sheriff's Department, and Dewitt Township Police along with two helicopters were also there. St. Mary School was put into immediate lock down. The robbers, four in total, split up after the robbery. It is assumed that one of the robbers was in a getaway car in front. It was believed that the second car was stashed by the park. The short mean one was captured within the hour by I-496 and I-96. The money was eventually returned after it had been kept as evidence for a couple of years.

The robbery team was traced back to Kentucky; two of them were a husband and wife trying to make a quick buck in Michigan. Following the robbery all of the employees were interviewed. All of the employees and customers in the bank at the time of the robbery received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Clinton County Sheriff's Department for their Calmness, Courage and Alertness during the robbery.

175th Anniversary[]

In 2012, the Village celebrated its 175th Anniversary.

Education[]

Westphalia is home to the following schools, which are divided among grade levels:

• St. Mary School (K-6)^[9]
• Pewamo-Westphalia Elementary School (K-6)^[10]
• Pewamo-Westphalia Middle/High School (7-12)^[11]

Geography[]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.14 square miles (2.95 km²), of which 1.11 square miles (2.87 km²) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km²) (2.63%) is water.^[12]

Demographics[]

2010 census[]

As of the census^[3] of 2010, there were 923 people, 355 households, and 267 families residing in the village. The population density was 831.5 inhabitants per square mile (321.0/km²). There were 364 housing units at an average density of 327.9 per square mile (126.6/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.2% White, 0.1% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.0% of the population.

There were 355 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.0% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 24.8% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.04.

The median age in the village was 39.4 years. 27.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.8% were from 25 to 44; 20.1% were from 45 to 64; and 22.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census[]

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 876 people, 342 households, and 251 families residing in the village. The population density was 765.7 per square mile (296.7/km²). There were 350 housing units at an average density of 305.9 per square mile (118.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.43% White, 0.23% Native American, and 0.34% from two or more races.

There were 342 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $52,500, and the median income for a family was $58,864. Males had a median income of $40,781 versus $31,827 for females. The per capita income for the village was $20,112. There are 3.5% of families living below the poverty line and 4.2% of the population, including 4.3% of under eighteens and 9.0% of those over 64.

Notable people[]

• Ardeth Platte, Dominican religious sister and anti-nuclear activist, member of the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame
• Joseph Rademacher, catholic bishop

Cultural Celebrations[]

Westphalia Cruise-In[]

Westphalia Cruise-In 2018

One of the largest car shows in Michigan, the Westphalia Cruise-In displays classic cars on the downtown streets of Westphalia. An annual event held by the village of Westphalia in conjunction with the Portland Cruisers, classic cars and classic car enthusiasts flock to downtown Westphalia every June to view over 800 classic cars and experience the local shops and restaurants. The Cruise in 2018 hosted 1,312 cars.^[14]

Westphalia Light Parade 2019

Light Parade & Tree Lighting[]

Hosted by the Westphalia Historical Society, on the first Saturday of December, a parade goes down Main Street, starting east of "four corners", ending at the Historical Society Museum. Each year a person of honor "flips the switch" on the tree. St. Nikolaus joins in as well, in true German tradition in honor of the upcoming feast day. Local businesses open with specialties, treats and fun.

References[]

External links[]

• Westphalia web site
• Westphalia Historical Society