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Dubuque, Barton/Russell Co., Kansas

The unincorporated community of Dubuque is located on the border of Barton and Russell Counties. It was Polish immigrants who settled the area following the Civil War. Volga Germans settled in the area shortly thereafter, coming from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

St. Catherine's Catholic Church was built there in the 1870s and served primarily the early Polish immigrants and their descendatns. The current structure was built in 1901, and remains a functioning parish. There is also a Catholic cemetery across the road from the church.

Dorrance, Russell Co., Kansas

Dorrance was founded in June 1867 when the Kansas Pacific Railway reached the area. It was named after Oliver Dorrance, the railroad superintendant at the time. The first settlers were from Germany, England, and Ireland who arrived in 1870. A prairie fire destroyed much of the town center in March 1879, and the new layout was formalized in 1880.

Volga German families settled in and around Dorrance.

Cordia, Rush Co., Kansas

The townsite of Cordia was formed on 1 July 1920 as an offshoot of the Liebenthal Parish on fifteen acres donated by Joseph Legge, Fritz Oelkers and M. Close. It received its charter on August 5th of the same year.

The community of Cordia never really consisted of anything more than the church and the rectory. Today, all that remains of Cordia is the cemetery located east of the former church site.

Catharine, Ellis Co., Kansas

Catharine was founded 8 April 1876 by a group of Volga German immigrants who had arrived the previous fall in Topeka. The original settlers included the following families (with the total number of people in each family in parenthesis):

from Katharinenstadt

Justus Bissing (7)
Friedrich Karlin (4)
Peter Karlin (3)
Jacob Karlin (3)
Friedrick Koerner (10)

They were joined on 27 July 1876 by another group of families from Katharinenstadt:

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