Mennonite Heritage and
Agricultural Museum
Each of the 8 buildings tells a different story.
1906 Preparatory School
In 1906 the Alexanderwohl Gemeindeschule (community school), later called the Goessel Vorbereitungschule (preparatory school), located at 100 East Main, was organized under the leadership of Elder Peter Balzer. The aim of the institution was to provide a two-year high school curriculum with the purpose of preparing students for further academic training at Bethel College. In the first years the school was funded mainly by the Alexanderwohl congregation, and parents paid tuition.
This school was church sponsored and focused on mathematics, English, geography, church and world history. Most of the courses were taught in German. The first term was six months long and tuition was $15.00, or $2.50 a month. Students who lived too far away to commute lived in the nearby boarding house or with families in Goessel. After completing the two-year program, students were eligible to attend Bethel College, a private church-sponsored college just north of Newton.
Students had to be 14 years old or older to attend the Preparatory School. The first enrollment in 1906 consisted of 35 students. In the 1924-1925 school year, the last year the school was open, the enrollment was 42. The Prep School graduated 260 students.
This lovely handpainted stage curtain hung in the Goessel Rural High School and includes the 1937 junior and senior class mottos. (It is on display in the Prep School).
The Prep School can be rented for functions at $35 per day. It has kitchen and restroom facilities, but is not available from October through April, depending on freeze dates.
Call 620.367.8200 or email mhmuseum@mtelco.net Museum office for details.
After Tabor Mennonite Church organized in 1908 and Goessel Mennonite Church organized in 1920, they joined in supporting the school. The institution's income, however, could not keep up with increasing costs. In 1925, members of the three supporting churches decided to close the school and send their children to Goessel Rural High School, which had been organized that year. Parents were assured that their children would receive religious instruction at the public school.
The building continued to be used by the High School as classrooms for its industrial arts program into the 1970s. It was the first structure moved to the Museum grounds. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the 1906 Prep School building housed a restaurant, "The 1906" (for a short time). It was operated by two successive managers.
Construction of the Goessel Rural High School building. The 1906 Prep School can be seen in the background, next to the much bigger dormitory building.
Each of the 8 buildings tells a different story.
2014-2024 Mennonite Heritage
and Agricultural Museum
Created by Fern Bartel nee Schmidt