Pioneer Chapel

Many settlers in the area were Catholics of Czech and Irish descent, and before a small chapel was built on the farm of Joseph Kotas in 1874, services were held in homes. The chapel served as the first Catholic church for pioneers in Fillmore and Saline Counties, while priests traveled from one mission to another; Father Sulak, the first to visit, stayed 3 days, and pioneers led the congregation in praying the rosary and reading the epistle and gospel. In 1890 the chapel was replaced by a new and larger church in Milligan, and in October 1901 it was moved to Pioneer Cemetery, the Ceski Bratri (North) Cemetery, to be used for funerals in inclement weather. It now stands as a memorial to the pioneers who endured the hardships of making a life for themselves and for people today and tomorrow in Nebraska.

Nebraska · United States