"The Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church was established as a mission in 1870. The building was erected in 1885-1886. The lots for the mission were purchased from the Pudget Sound RR Co. and the first priest was Father Dunkel. There were 18 charter members. The first recorded wedding took place November 20, 1879 and united in marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Whalen. Frank Hayes was the first baptism. The Catholic cemetery, north of Aldrich, was laid out in 1887 by Charles Spencer and Dick Spillane. The church closed in 1970." Text Source: (
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Since 1973, all incorporated towns were declared officially to be ‘cities’ by an act of the Minnesota Legislature. Ever wonder about those ‘little cities’? This series of 100 waymarks will take you to all corners of the great state of Minnesota to visit the 100 smallest of the incorporated cities in the state. All have a great story to tell.
This is the 1st of 100 of the cities described in the book LITTLE MINNESOTA. The City of Aldrich is home to the first railroad, the first post office and the first Catholic Church in Wadena County. The city was incorporated in 1871 currently is home to 48 persons.
Situated on both sides of TH #10 and along the Partridge River, Aldrich is named for Cyrus Aldrich, a popular & respected politician who represented Minnesota in the U.S. Congress from 1859 – 1863 and later a member of the Minnesota legislature.
In 1947, the John Fredli family opened the Aldrich Cheese Factory. Until the factory closed in 1973, employees churned out 5,000 pounds of cheese daily. One Christmas, General Jack Vessey, Ronald Reagan’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a frequent visitor to the cheese shop, ordered 32 pounds of cheese as gifts to the military chiefs of 15 NATO nations. According to a letter received by the Fredli’s, the cheese was a hit with all, including in the countries of Denmark & the Netherlands, two very prominent cheese producing nations.
The oldest church in Wadena County, the Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church, was founded as a mission in 1870. Eighteen charter members erected a building the building in 1885. A walk through the Catholic Cemetery north of the city reveals tombstones that date back to the early 1860’s.
This series of waymarks is tuned to getting people to visit these wonderful small communities before they disappear completely. To validate your ‘find’, please post a photo of you with your GPS at the coordinates and please relate a little tidbit about what you learned about the town and its people that is not in this narrative or the book. You can learn more about ‘LITTLE MINNESOTA’ by logging on to (
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Visit Instructions:1) A photo of the church is required for visits to a waymark.
2) Please share some comments about your visit.
3) Additional photos are encouraged. If you can have information in addition to that already provided about this church, please share it with us.