John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1791

As we continue to visit some German-American points of interest in the U.S., we will stop at Hermann, Missouri, located about 80 miles west of St. Louis.  Hermann is not a random pick for a name; it honors Hermann (Arminius in Latin), who vanquished three Roman Legions in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D.

Hermann, MO, began as a joint stock company in 1836 on 11,000 acres of land (equal in size to a square of land a little more than four miles on a side).  The impetus and initial support was provided by the Deutsche Ansiedling-Gesellschaft zu Philadelphia (i.e., The German Settlement Society of Philadelphia ).  The Society members, horrified to see the loss of German heritage and traditions among their countrymen in the U.S., dreamed of a self-supporting colony where their culture would flourish in the New World, a kind of "German Athens of the West".  Advertising in the eastern U.S. and in Germany brought 17 colonists, including 8 children, one year later.  They were horrified to find that the grand city of Hermann consisted of two simple log cabins that were already occupied.  The first winter was not easy.

By 1839, an influx of eager colonists had expanded Hermann’s population to 450.  The settler’s industry and persistence were rewarded as their community grew to include five stores, two large hotels, and a post office.  In time, "Little Germany" became home to two German newspapers, two brass bands, shooting clubs, and a variety of theatrical and musical entertainments.  As the Settlement Society had hoped, folk customs transplanted from the Old World continued to thrive in the new.  Fastnacht (Shrove Tuesday) saw masked young people in fancy costumes roaming from house to house, begging for Fastnacht cakes and sweets.  The Maifest (May Festival) celebration featured dancing around a Maypole and special games.  In the autumn, the Erntefest included a procession of wagons each representing a particular crop.

The land around Hermann was too hilly for normal agricultural pursuits and the settlers turned to a more fruitful endeavor:  grapes.  This happy decision led to Hermann’s first Weinfest in 1848, when the area had become America’s second largest wine production region.  Before long, Hermann was producing more than a million gallons of wine each year.  In the school, both German and English were taught.  In 1871, they persuaded the Legislature to allow a bilingual school there.  The school built in that year served as an elementary school until 1955, and today houses the Historic Hermann Museum.  A number of special events are held through the year to recognize their heritage.  (Contact:  City of Hermann, 207 Schiller Street, Hermann, MO 65041, or see www.hermannmo.com )
(29 Oct 03)