German-Russian settlers arrived in this area in 1885. They came from near the village of Elsass, near Odessa, in Ukraine. At that time the area was part of Russia. They established a village here named Elsass, no doubt after their Russian village. To get here the settlers walked to this area from the railhead in Eureka, SD.
As these settlers were almost entirely Roman Catholic, they sought out the services of a priest. At first, a priest named Fr. Bernard Strassmaier travelled from Fort Yates, across the Missouri River, to serve the settlers. In the 1890s, a priest occasionally visited from the Zeeland area to provide services. Then, in 1898 a frame church was built here.
In 1906, the Milwaukee Railroad came through the area. Unfortunately, the railroad passed a mile or so to the east, and not through the village. The villagers all moved east to the town of Hague, where a new brick church was built in 1909, and this place was abandoned.
All that remains is the old Saint Mary’s Cemetery. Here you can see a great concentration of iron cross grave markers. These were often made from scrap metal by the local blacksmiths, and are quite unique.
Thank you for visiting.