Bretzville Research Paper

A small town where big things happen in southern Indiana, goes by the name of Bretzville. A place where businesses have begun but have also ended. A place that goes by a German name, still carrying the heritage. This tiny place of Bretzville, located in the middle of Dubois County may look microscopic from a large-scale, but it holds a great deal of history that has affected the way some people live today. Leaving Volksheim, Germany in the spring of 1837, Jacob Bretz and his wife Barbara along with their five sons and nephew began a journey to the United States. Boarding a French clipper ship, the Bretz family was about ready to undertake a huge and stormy adventure. (Emmert 419) Eventually, over the span of 75 days, the family arrived in New York City (Weber and Sonderman 2). The family’s stay in the Big Apple did not last very long, as they decided moved to Pittsburgh. The Bretz’s next excursion consisted of riding on a flatboat down the Ohio River until they finally reached the town of Troy, Indiana. (Emmert 419) The family hired a pioneer by the name of McIntire (Weber and Sonderman 2). McIntire’s job consisted of taking them to Indian Creek, what now lies between Bretzville and Ferdinand, on his ox-drawn wagon (Emmert 419). The route traveled along the old Troy-Jasper dirt road, going through what eventually became known as Fulda (Weber and

The request to change the name became an issue when a post office came into the township in 1866, hence it now bears the name of Bretzville. (Wilson 364) Bretzville became named after the settlers, much like its neighboring town of Schnellville, which was settled by the Schnell family in 1865 (Emmert 419). Bretzville became an additional small town in the Jackson Township, where St. Anthony stood and still stands as the leading town (Wilson