Religious education was another very important part of life for the pioneer families living in and around Dawson, as it was in all parts of our nation in those early days of our history. Many times their faith in a loving God was all they had to depend on to keep alive in such a wild and remote part of the country. The first church service was held in the home of John Rothenberger when a traveling priest came to celebrate Holy Mass in his log cabin home in 1853. For quite a long time such opportunities came only once in many weeks. Later when there were more people in the area, the group came together for worship services held in a home or school house. It was not until 1878 that St. Mary's built their first church under the direction of Rev. C. J. Quinn. At that time, there were 36 families in the parish. The present St. Mary's Church is the fourth to be erected by their congregation, all preceding structures being destroyed by fire or storm.

In 1874, Henry Allen, who lived on a farm north of Dawson, (now the home of Lowell Heim and family) organized the Union Sunday School at Dawson. They met in an empty granary near the elevator - empty that summer because the grasshoppers had eaten all the corn crop, which they did the following summer, also. Since there was no way to heat this building, they could not meet in winter. Later, they met for worship in the I.O.O.F. Hall in the town. Several ministers tried to organize a church with no success until Rev. S. A. Pettit came and organized the United Evangelical Church and In 1881, a building was erected and dedicated to the worship of God. Later, this building was remodeled and enlarged but was struck by lightning and destroyed, the present building replacing it.

The two churches work together for the good of the town and community and, hopefully, the good of the nation.

(this historical article was written by the late Elma Heim Griffith for the bicentennial of Dawson in 1976.)