How did Plain get its name?
Was Plain named for Basilica "Maria Plain" in Austria?

---

Early settlers of Plain were not German

The early 1800 settlers of Franklin Township were not German. And prior to this, Native American "Indian" families lived there. Early settler names from an 1857 map of the Town of Franklin include Beaver, Bruner, Burns, Butts, Carpenter, Claridge, Cooper, Cramer (from Ohio), Davis, Davison, Dickerson, Dihall, Douglas, Freidiger, Fritchie, Garber, Gasser, Gillaas, Hammoman, Heiser, Hess, Holler, Howlett, Hudson, Joyes, Lamb, Luther, Neuheisel, Marry, Meekly, Mitchell, T. J. Morgan (from South Wales; the second settler in the township), Ochsner, Otto, Penan, Richards, Robinson, Rosuker, Schoenman (from Switzerland then to Ohio), Schreiner, Schumway, DeWitt Slaughter (the first settler in 1849 in the Town of Franklin), Simpson, Smith, Voelker, Weishan, Wells, Whites, Yeager. The 1857 map shows a stone quarry, 3 school houses, and a saw mill; Honey Creek flows through the township.

A letter from 1846 mentions these early settler names on Honey Creek: Bear, Carpenter, Cramer, Davis, Dickerson, McCloud, Morgan, Norton, Slauter, Watson, Williams, Wilson. For more information, see page 4-10 of Hildegard Thering's "A History of Plain, Wisconsin."

---

Some Plain residents were from Bohemia

The early residents of Franklin Township who came from "Austria" were actually from towns in the present-day Czech Republic; previously known as Bohemia. 

---

The first Mass in Plain 

The first Mass in Plain was September 21, 1857 and was held in the log house of George and Theresia Neuheisel; the parish consisted of 12 families. In 1861, the first church in Plain was built. At the suggestion of Bishop John Henni of Milwaukee, the name "St. Luke" was chosen, in dedication to St. Lucas.

[Source: Harry Hooper Heming, The Catholic Church in Wisconsin - A history of the Catholic Church in Wisconsin from the earliest time to the present day, (Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Catholic Historical Publishing Company, 1895-1898).
Source: Bernadette D. Bittner, History of the Churches of Sauk County, Wisconsin, 1977.
Source: Hildegarde Thering, A History of Plain, Wisconsin (Plain, Wisconsin: privately published, 1982).]

---

The Patron Saint of St. Luke's Catholic Church in Plain, Wisconsin 

Lest anyone think that "Maria Plain" is the patron saint of the Catholic church in Plain. . . here is a picture of "St. Luke Our Patron" from the 1997 "Celebrating Faith" church directory (St. Luke, Plain 140 Years):

---

Did a priest name Plain? 

Was it in 1861 that the priests Rev. Maximilian Gaertner or Rev. Weinhardt suggested that Plain be named after Maria Plain? As the 1968 book "The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names" says, "A Catholic priest who stopped there suggested Plain because the land reminded him of Maria Von Plain in Austria."  Where did the author of this 1968 book get this information? The author thanks numerous people for their help, including Edward Kraemer of Plain, who, in 1938, was the local contractor of the fifth St. Luke's church built in Plain. "The decision to build a fifth church was driven by the continuous growth of St. Luke's parochial school. Construction started in the fall of 1938 under the able guidance of Reverend Peter Beschta and the untiring efforts of the local contractor, Mr. Edward Kraemer. The fifth and present church was dedicated on February 27, 1940." (Source: St. Luke's Catholic Church, Plain, WI 1982 (1857-1982 125th Anniversary church directory).

Perhaps a priest in Plain in the early 1900s came from or studied in the Salzburg, Austria, area or had seen or heard of the pilgrimage church called Maria Plain in Bergheim, Austria. Did this priest mention to some Plain residents about the beauty of Maria Plain and the similarity of the basilica's name with their town name?  

---

German settlers in Plain.
Did they visit Maria Plain in Austria?

The Germans who settled in Franklin Township came mostly from the Waldmünchen area in Bavaria. A few settlers came from other areas of Germany and from Bohemia. The emigrants were mostly farmers who left their homeland in search of better opportunities in America. Maria Plain near Salzburg, Austria is about 200 miles from Waldmünchen. There was no train service through the Bavarian Forest until the early 1900s. Because the trip to Maria Plain could take a week or more to get there by other methods of transportation (by foot, horse, or boat), it is unlikely that the people of Waldmünchen area made pilgrimages to Maria Plain. There were nearer pilgrim churches such as Neukirchen Balbini, Neukirchen Heilig Blut, Kloster Schönsee, and Kloster Walderbach.

---

Waldmünchen to Basilica Maria Plain in the late 1800s 

Possible route from the Waldmünchen area to the pilgrim church Basilica Maria Plain near Salzburg during the late 1800s: First, make sure the hired hand will run the farm while you are on the pilgrimage. Then travel by horse or foot to Straubing. Take a boat on the Danube (Donau) River to Passau. There were no tourist boats in this time, so one could possibly ride on an empty salt boat (no chairs, of course). Travel further in a boat on the Inn River. Around Braunau am Inn, merge onto the Salzach River to Salzburg. Roads were mostly made of dirt and there were not many cobbled roads yet.

---

German settlers in Plain.
Did they read about Maria Plain in Austria?

Did the German emigrants read about Maria Plain in the local German newspaper? There were few, if any, local papers in the 1860s. Residents of the Waldmünchen area could read a weekly government newspaper such as the Neunburger Bezirks-Amts-Blatt which printed official notices and information. It was unlikely this paper would have news about Maria Plain. The Bayerwald Echo was founded in 1945, and the Chamer Zeitung started around 1967. Or perhaps some of the early English settlers heard of Maria Plain.

---

German Settlers in Plain.
They were busy! Were they concerned about the naming of their town?

Most of the emigrants from Germany spoke the German language. When they went to Plain, most of them became farmers. They cleared land for planting crops, built homes, raised farm animals and reared children -- all without indoor plumbing, electrical appliances, telephones, motor vehicles, or tractors.

The Plain post office was established - 1860

In 1860, the post office was established with the name Plain. In 1912, the town incorporated and officially became known as "Plain." Prior to 1912, the town was called Cramer's Corners, Logtown, and Plain. Newspapers from the 1870s refer to the town as Plain and Logtown. As Almira Ruhland wrote sometime before 1979, "The story persists that despite the early name of Cramertown our pioneer ancestors requested the name "Our Lady of the Plain" or Maria Plain (from a cathedral near Salzburg, Austria) but the Postal Department in Washington stipulated the name Plain." Almira suggests that this was a "story" being told in Plain. Are there documents to support such a story?

Perhaps it was not the early pioneer ancestors who requested the name "Our Lady of the Plain" or "Maria Plain." Perhaps it was much later when Plain residents may have petitioned to change the name. It is unknown in which year this may have been.

It's interesting to note that the 1880 book, "History of Sauk County," regarding the history of Plain, does not mention anything about Maria Plain in Austria.

Plain resident has ties with Salzburg, Austria

One Plain immigrant - Mary Soeldner - had ties with Salzburg, Austria; she emigrated in 1883 at age 23 to America  (twenty-three years after Plain was named). "Mary was employed by a wealthy lawyer, later a judge, who lived in a castle in Salzburg. Mary had been with this family since the age of 12, eventually working up to the position of cook. Although herself of the poor class, in their company, she had learned High German and had even traveled with them on vacations to Switzerland and other parts of Europe." (Source: "A Kraemer Chronicle," by Claire Geesaman, 1992). Mary Soeldner was married to Joseph Frank of Plain and had 10 children, one of whom was Gisela Frank (married in 1912 to Edward Kraemer). In 1950, Edward and Gisela Kraemer took a Holy Year Pilgrimage to Germany. They visited Irlach, Bavaria, the hometown of Edward's parents, Paul and Walburga Kraemer.  Paul and Walburga Kraemer emigrated from Germany to America in 1866, and moved to Franklin Township in 1867.

In the September 23, 1915 story, "Wants Plain Re-Christened" the author "Onlooker" wrote, "I for my part would suggest a name not yet found in Wisconsin, and in order to avoid unnecessary criticisms and hallucinations, I reserve three in petto, promising at the same time that they all will be delighted at its beautiful sound and easy spelling."

Who could have written this letter? 

• Rev. George Pesch - He was the priest at Plain from 1909 to 1918.
• Edward Kraemer - He was listed as Trustee on the ticket of the caucus for the Village of Plain in 1915 and was the founder of the construction business, Edward Kraemer and Sons, Inc. Ed was a builder, inventor and road contractor. The last building he built was St. Luke's Catholic Church in Plain.

Could the author of the letter have been suggesting that Plain be re-christened as "Maria Plain"? That certainly is a "beautiful sound and easy spelling" and is a "name not yet found in Wisconsin."

Rev. Pesch was born July 18, 1862 in Aachen (aka Aix-la-Chapelle), Germany, near the Belgium/Netherlands border. He studied in Belgium (at Malmedy and St. Trond) and was ordained at All-Hallows Missionary college in Dublin, Ireland. From Dublin he emigrated to America in the fall of 1885. It's not known whether or not Rev. Pesch heard of the Maria Plain basilica in Bergheim bei Salzburg, Austria.

Before WWII, Plain residents took trips to Europe

In the 1920s and 1930s, several Plain residents took trips by sea to Germany, to visit their homeland. Perhaps during these trips, they also took a pilgrimage to Maria Plain, and upon returning to Plain, exclaimed in wonder at the similarities of the names.

School students in Plain were told about Maria Plain

A St. Luke's Catholic school student (attending school from about 1936 to 1947) recalled hearing from a religious school teacher that Plain was named for Maria Plain. Perhaps this nun may have heard the story from a priest or 1920-1930s world traveler.

Edward Kraemer traveled to Europe in 1950 and 1960 

1950: Edward and his wife went on a Holy Year Pilgrimage to places such as Paris, Lourdes, Rome, Venice, Innsbruck, Oberammergau, and London.

1960:  Edward and his wife saw the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany while in Europe. 

Edward Kraemer published a pamphlet about the Basilica Maria Plain in Austria after 1948

Edward's pamphlet was written in English. The German version of the pamphlet has a nearly identical cover. The differences in the covers are:
1) The words "Maria Plain" appears at the bottom of the Kraemer pamphlet, and is followed by "In Austria, The Shine after which the village of Plain, Wisconsin is named."
2) The German pamphlet has the words "Maria Plain" at the top of the page and says nothing about Plain, Wisconsin at the bottom.
3) The English version has a poor quality photo of the Basilica, and appears to be a photocopy of the German cover.
4) The German version was published in 1948 by the Verlag (publishing company) "Rupertuswerk." The publisher's name is shown on the front cover. The same exact publisher's name is shown on the cover of the English version which was "published" by Edward Kraemer.

1) Did Edward himself write the English translation of the history of Basilica Maria Plain?
2) Did he hire someone to write the translation?
3) What was his role as publisher?
4) When was the English version published?
5) Why does the English version say on the front cover that it was published by Verlag Rupertuswerk, but on the next page it says "Published by Edward Kraemer, Plain, Wisconsin"?

Perhaps people were confused with the miraculous story of the Mother God of Ast picture which the Hetzel family gave to St. Anne's Shrine in Plain in 1929; and with the miraculous painting at the basilica in Maria Plain in Austria. Perhaps this confusion caused some residents of Plain to wonder if their town was named after Maria Plain in Austria.

Village of Plain website

The Village of Plain website doesn't speculate on the naming of Plain:

• It was generally agreed that the Village of Plain was started by 1882.
• Perry’s Store, B. J. Wilcox Blacksmith Shop, the Stutz Saloon, and three houses made up the inland village. 
• In order for the village businesses to be handled more effectively, Plain secured a village charter in 1912.  The first charter election was held on June 4, 1912.  The first meeting of the Village Board, after the Village was incorporated in 1912, was held on June 17, 1912.

Is Plain, Wisconsin a sister city of Bergheim, Austria?

Has Plain, Wisconsin, been officially declared a "sister city" of Bergheim bei Salzburg in Austria, and is there a sign located in the city? Bergheim is the town where the basilica, Maria Plain, is located. Does Plain, Wisconsin, have a "sister city" sign for Bergheim bei Salzburg?

Meanings of "Plain"

Plain could mean grasslands (plains), though the Plain, Wisconsin, area is hilly. Plain can also mean “simple.”

Conclusion

This concludes my study of whether or not Plain, Wisconsin, was named for the Austrian Basilica called Maria Plain. I have not yet seen official documents that connect Maria Plain in Austria with Plain, Wisconsin.

More information will be added as it becomes available. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts on the subject. My email address is listed on the home page. Or you may contact me at RootsWeb Message Board where I posted a query here.