The Millhousen Mission Cross

The German words carved on this stone cross mean, he who endures to the end will be saved. It is said to commemorate an early Catholic mission preached in this little settlement. This is Millhousen, and it was founded by a colony of German Catholic immigrants who named it for a town back in the old country.

The first families came in the eighteen thirties and built their whole community around their faith. The church here, Immaculate Conception, has long been the heart of Millhousen. It is one of only four Catholic churches in all of Decatur County. A mission cross like this one was planted to mark a revival of faith, a reminder set in stone meant to outlast every generation that prays beneath it.