It’s easy to assume that St. Peter Church has always existed. So many have called St. Peter home and some can even trace their roots back to the Church’s early history. These families can help us appreciate the sacrifice and hard work that made St. Peter what it is today. Other sources can even help us reconstruct the landscape from thousands of years ago – well before these families even lived on the land. When you come to our Church, look for clues that will help you reconstruct and appreciate our roots, and what the area and life was like before St. Peter Church existed.

One clue – Cherokee Marsh – is easy to spot. The origin of the marsh takes us back thousands of years. Imagine coming up over the hill on North Sherman Avenue in 8,000 BC and gazing out over the landscape to the north. Back then, the marsh was actually a lake that was about ten feet deep. The Ho-Chunk people lived in villages, planted corn, hunted, fished, and harvested muscles and wild rice that grew on the banks of the lakes. This lake likely lapped up against where St. Peter Church is located today. It extended west over what is now Cherokee park, and east and south over the Dane County Regional Airport. This body of water connected with what are now the Madison Lakes. A few thousand years earlier, a thick sheet of ice had scooped out all of the area's lakes and ground off many of the higher hills that once existed in the area. The glacier eventually melted and filled the lakes with water. It left the soils for the area farms and the boulders that early farmers had to pick up from their fields. The glacier left the many rocks that would eventually be used in the landscape walls in Petrus and Cherokee Parks.

Another clue – the windmill in Petrus Park – is easy to spot too. This windmill reminds us of the many farms and hardworking families that were in the area before the church was built. The area was dotted with oats, corn, dairy farms and a sauerkraut factory. Hornung, West, Raemisch, Back, Bruns, Rassmusen, Harvey, Sands, Ponds, Reinke and Lease are just a few of the family names that formed the founding community that became St. Peter Church. In fact, it was Peter Hornung that sold a parcel of his farm to the Madison Diocese where St. Peter Church stands today.

A final clue lies in the recent renovation of St. Peter Church. It represents an investment in the future of Madison's north side. Plans for the renovation date back as far as the 1980's and have been carried forward by the service of countless Parish members. In the words of our lead Pastor, Fr. Gary, “The renovation is not only for ourselves, but the faith we hold and want to see passed on. To have a beautiful place to gather, to celebrate, to mourn, deepens the faith of a community. It lets people know what we believe is authentic, worthwhile and will last well after ourselves.”

So, when you visit St. Peter Church, remember its history. The ice, lakes, farms, mistakes, triumphs, and sacrifice that comes with it. Our past brings to mind the shared hope for our future. Our future as a community occupying this place, but also the faith in our future as beloved children of God.