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St. Michael's parish was founded in 1836 by German Roman Catholics who had emigrated from Germany ten years earlier. This church replaced their original log church, and with it the parishioners sought to emulate the thirteenth-century Cathedral of Our Beloved Lady in Freiburg, Germany. The plans drawn by contractor P. H. Melvin of Franklin date from 1880. The parish used donated labor and materials to keep costs low. Native sandstone used for the church was quarried nearby. The church has a central nave and Gothic-arched windows, but the dominating element is the central square clock tower with steeple that overlooks the town from a knoll. Stonemasons were brought from Germany to fit the stones.