Hirschville, North Dakota facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hirschville, North Dakota
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St. Philip's Cemetery in Hirschville
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 Hirschville, North Dakota
Location in North Dakota
Hirschville, North Dakota
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | North Dakota |
| County | Dunn |
| Elevation | 2,123 ft (647 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Area code(s) | 701 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1029476 |
Hirschville is a small, unincorporated community in Dunn County, North Dakota, United States. An "unincorporated community" means it's a group of homes and businesses that isn't officially governed as a city or town. It's known for its history as a settlement for German-Hungarian and German-Russian immigrants.
A Look Back at Hirschville's History
The area around Hirschville was settled by families from Germany and Hungary. These groups were specifically known as German-Hungarians and German-Russians. They brought their culture and traditions to this part of North Dakota.
Hirschville's Post Office
On May 11, 1911, a U.S. post office was added to the local general store in Hirschville. This meant people could send and receive mail right in their community. The mail for Hirschville came from Taylor, a nearby town in Stark County.
The post office was named Hirschville to honor its founder, Casper Hirsch (1865–1931). His name was sometimes spelled Kaspar or Kasper. Pius Stockie (1885–1960) was chosen as the mail carrier. Casper Hirsch himself served as the postmaster, the person in charge of the post office, until he moved to Wisconsin in 1917. The Hirschville post office closed down in 1920.
The Community Church
St. Philip's Parish was started in 1907. On December 12, 1910, Casper and Marianna Hirsch donated about 6 acres (24,000 m²) of land. This land was for building St. Philip's Catholic Church. The church was important for German-speaking immigrants to gather and worship.
Soon after the church was finished, Casper Hirsch opened a grocery and hardware store nearby. In 1916, a fair was held in Hirschville. The fair helped raise money for a new church building. When the new church was completed, it served a large group of 130 families. In the 1990s, the Hirschville church was a "mission church." This means it was a smaller church supported by a larger one, Saints Peter and Paul Church in New Hradec.
By the late 1990s, the number of families actively attending the church had become very small, only about a dozen. A final mass was held at the church on June 27, 1998. Even though some people wanted to save the church, it was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 2000.
