My research began in June 2004 when I wanted to find out how the Village of Plain was named. Plain is in Franklin Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, and was once called Cramer's Corners and Logtown. I was hoping to find out if there was any truth to the rumor that Plain was named after Basilica Maria Plain on Plainberg hill in Bergheim by Salzburg, Austria.
I believe that Plain, Wisconsin, was named by the early settlers named Cramer. They have no relation to the present-day Kraemer families. The Cramer families came from Ohio and Pennsylvania and used names from their former towns and townships to name the village of Plain and the Township of Franklin in Wisconsin. Plain was already named by March 31, 1858, when the post office route began.
Who started the Maria Plain rumor? It was likely Rev. Charles Surges, pastor of St. Luke's in Plain from 1918 to 1930, who "suggested" the Maria Plain story after having taken trips to Europe in 1924 and 1930. In 1931, a student from St. Luke's wrote her version of the Maria Plain saga in the school yearbook, The Chimes. The Maria Plain church guide booklet was "published" by Edward Kraemer which perpetuated the rumor. The book was given to people at Plain and the story spread like wild fire throughout the community. Around 2017 when Plain began promoting their community as a Bavarian-style village, Maria Plain banners were placed in front of St. Luke's church. So the story continues to this day.
The original Naming of Plain web pages were created on June 1, 2008 at https://sites.google.com/site/auswanderer20/towns/plain-sauk-county-wisconsin in six parts. In September 2020, Google Sites changed their Sites layout which caused my web pages to lose formatting. In March 2021, I removed the 6 pages of the naming of Plain research and created a book as a PDF document. The PDF includes early history of Plain (1800s) to the present time. The book has numbered 83 pages. To see the book, click: Naming of Plain, Wisconsin (if the link does not work, it's because the file is being updated, so check back soon)
A hand-carved wooden sheep was saved from the rubble of the cyclone which destroyed St. Luke's third Catholic church.
The series of short movie clips included street scenes of Plain including businesses such as the Ringelstetter Garage and Ray Ring's Meat Market, outdoor scenes of weddings held at St. Luke Chapel in Plain, processions and bell ringers for First Solemn Masses of Rev. Frank Brickl and Rev. Edmund Bettinger, workers and machines at Kraemer's rock quarry, Hoover Dam; A Century of Progress International Exposition (The Chicago World's Fair) in 1933, and more.
This 230-page book with photos is available for purchase at the Old Franklin Township Historical Society (OFTHS) in Plain, WI. The price is $25 plus $6 shipping for members, and $30 plus $6 shipping for non-members. A 58-page index of the Thering book was compiled by Sandy Stiemke and Karen Beth and published in 2004. It is also available through OFTHS and costs $10 plus $3 shipping. See Merchandise page: https://oldfranklintownshiphistoricalsociety.weebly.com/merchandise.html
by Rev. Johann G. Laurer See "Books"
Map of Plain, Wisconsin (Google Maps)
This booklet is about the Mutter Gottes von Ast (Our Lady of Ast) painting which found its way from the small village of Ast in Bavaria, Germany - across the Atlantic Ocean - to St. Anne's Shrine in the small village of Plain in Sauk County, Wisconsin. Click here
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain,_Wisconsin
Wikiwand: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Plain,_Wisconsin
Fun fact: The distance from Plain, Wisconsin, to Waldmünchen, Kreis Cham, Bavaria, Germany, is 7,641 kilometers.
Auswanderer - from Bavaria, Bohemia and Bukovina by DebbieBlau
https://sites.google.com/site/auswanderer20/Home
https://tinyurl.com/Auswanderer20
Old Franklin Township Historical Society
History of Franklin Township in Sauk County, Wisconsin
Newsletters, photos and more: https://oldfranklintownshiphistoricalsociety.weebly.com/
Ruhland and Brickl by Marian Burmester:
https://ruhlandbricklbavariasaukco.weebly.com/
Plain History Genealogy Group (PHGG) by Gary Haas
Everything you want to know about the Plain, Wisconsin, area. Gary specializes in geeky ways to find stuff on the internet and can show you amazing computer and technology tips. Founded by Gary Haas in 2001, membership is free and open to anyone. Meetings held every other month on Saturday morning at the Kraemer Library in Plain. However, during the Covid 19 pandemic (2020 and beyond), meetings were held online via Webex. More info Plain History Genealogy Group (site not updated).
Check out the following links to Gary's Google Drive of interesting files:
Newsletters shock-full of helpful tips and information: https://goo.gl/gAKHwS
Meetings handouts and tutorials galore: https://goo.gl/yCu7Jb
Gary's "glhLibrary" of goodies: https://goo.gl/1zg4NR
Digitized documents of even more goodies: https://goo.gl/u1DVms
Kraemer History by Ken Kraemer: https://kraemerhistory.org/
Weitzer Ancestry by Debby Klug:
Bloggity Blog Blog Blog http://earlydues.blogspot.com/
Some old-timey pictures and stuff about Waterloo, Wisconsin
Baraboo and Other Place Names in Sauk County, Wisconsin. By Harry Ellsworth Cole, 1912. Available online here.
Pink Lady Rock research (26 Feb 2020): click here