Gluckstadt – the lucky city so nice the original residents bought it twice. For more than a century, the German influenced land just north of Madison and south of Canton wedged between Highway 55 and 51 has been an unincorporated slice of paradise for many. The town dates back to the early 1900s when German immigrants found their way south after first coming to Indiana. In 1905 Henry Klaas, John Kehle, Valentine Fitsch, Peter Schmidt and Joseph Weilandt all bought farmland from the Highland Colony Company out of Calhoun. The initial “Gluckstadt” investors paid a handsome sum of $22,000 for the promised land. Nine families first moved to the area with their farming tools, knowledge and livestock. They came by train in what was known as “immigrant cars’ and they worked the land as dairy and row crop farmers. The Minningers and Weisenberger families were part of the initial crew that settled the area.
Today, Kerry Minninger still lives in the community his forefathers planted. Bill Weisenberger also lives in the town that has been growing by leaps and bounds the past couple of decades. The German phonetic “Glook-Stahdt” has been southernized with a short U and short A sound but there’s still plenty of German heritage to be found and plenty of German relatives keeping the traditions alive.
“A lot of German immigrants settled in Indiana and my great-grandfather came down and my grandfather actually followed him down,” Kerry Minninger said. “
The land was fertile and the climate was suitable for what the Germans wanted to do for a living – dairy farming and row crops – but there was just one problem.
“The initial land prospector found this land and gave them a deal where they could move all of their belongings in a box car. They cleared the land and started building their homes but the land speculator took that money and went to the Mississippi Delta and bought more land thinking he could sell it quickly. But that deal fell through and unfortunately, he had to come back to Gluckstadt to tell them they did not own the land,” Minninger said.
Gluckstadt – a German word that translates as “lucky” was not so much for the initial German residents. The land was still legally owned by three widows and the Highland Colony Company had only taken an option on the land, thus never owning it with no right to sell. So, the Gluckstadt residents decided to make their own luck.
The community was deeply rooted in their church upbringing so they went to their local priest, explained the situation to him and waited for an answer.
“He got with a law firm in Jackson and helped them come up with a payment plan to actually pay for the land twice,” Minninger said.
Dairy farms and corn as well as gardens made the residents self-sufficient. Two Weisenberger brothers – Herman and Herbert – had dairy farms that were located on what would be the east side of Highway 55 (which was non-existent).
“On the west side was farmland owned by Leo and Bill Aulenbrock and then my grandfather, John A. Minninger had a farm and then Mr. Eugene Kehle had a farm next to ours. They were all dairy farmers,” John Minninger said. “To the east and north was the Schmidts.”
The dairy farmers were popular and provided milk for large dairies including Mosby’s Milk Company in Canton.
“By the time I came along, my grandfather was one of the first farmers to have an automated milking machine,” Minninger said. “But you’d have to bring them in and hook all the machines up and then unhook them and turn them out.”
Minninger, a former firefighter and former Nissan employee, works for the Mississippi Department of Health in Emergency Response.
The last census showed it was about 1,200 but it’s grown a lot. We think there’s probably 3,000 or 3,500. They are building so many subdivisions it’s hard to keep up. We go by the voter rolls for incorporation to figure out the percentage of signatures we need,” Minninger said. “We got a new Burger King now and three gyms, a couple of churches and some little strip shopping center malls and plenty of gas stations and convenience stores. We have a Mexican and Italian restaurant and a sports bar. It’s growing pretty quick. We have a bank and day care centers and boutique clothing stores and beauty salons and liquor stores. We don’t have a grocery store yet.”
There is also a Levis plant as well as the De Beukelaer Cookie Company and Raytheon in the area. Shipley’s Donuts has been looking for a spot to build and open a franchise as well. But the appeal of the “Lucky City” is the rural feel of a small town according to Minninger.
Kathy Simmons Willis moved to the area 15 years ago to be closer to Canton where her sons were in school.
“It’s a great place to live. There aren’t many restaurants and shops but it’s growing fast,” she said.
“It’s just a nice area with a lot of good people that live here,” he said. “I want to see Gluckstadt be Gluckstadt and not be swallowed up. We have so much tradition here.”
Even with new conveniences, the rural hamlet stays true to its heritage with a Gluckstadt GermanFest held each year at St. Joseph Catholic Church. Replete with homemade German sauerkraut made in large crocs as well as bratwurst and German Folk music, the one day festival draws attendees from around the world. Held the last Sunday in September every year, more than 30,000 attendees come to town.
“The church is actually the very first school house and my dad who was born in 1923 went to school there,” Minninger said. “I love Apricot Strudel and my wife makes about 100 of them for the GermanFest every year.”
Town residents come together to create more than 1,200 pounds of homemade sauerkraut that comes from a family recipe according to Bill Weisenberger. More than 1,000 jars are available for sale as a fundraiser for the church. Another 1,200 pounds is made to put on the bratwurst.
“It’s Aunt Gertrude Endris’ method,” third generation Gluckstadt resident Bill Weisenberger said. “It’s made in crocs that are hold seven or eight gallons. We do it the old-fashioned way. We get the cabbage and pack it down with salt in crocs and let it ferment outside for a couple to three weeks. It’s the best you’ve ever had.”
“It doesn’t taste like anything you get out of a can,” Minninger said.
The German heritage of the area also includes family recipes relating to Muscadine Wine and other spirits, according to Weisenberger.
“Some of them made a little bit of moonshine and the older Germans brewed their own beer or home brew as they called it. That was a long time ago. My grandpa made a real good Muscadine Wine. We’d sneak a stiff every now and again. We didn’t sell any of it. It was for home consumption.”
Weisenberger also keeps the home meat smoking traditions alive at his Gluckstadt residence. With a handmade, 6-foot by 8-foot smokehouse, he smokes and cures meat.
Gluckstadt – the lucky German city for generations of residents and for many generations to come.
