A German Catholic settlement since 1836

Westphalia, on the west side of the county, is one of Michigan’s oldest and most distinctive German communities. A small group of German Catholic families founded it in 1836. They came from the Westphalia region of Germany, sailed to America, and walked inland along the old Dexter Trail. There they bought 560 acres of Clinton County farmland and named their new home after the homeland they’d left. It became the first German Catholic settlement in central Michigan. St. Mary’s Parish, founded in 1837, was the first German-speaking Catholic parish in this part of the state.

Nearly two centuries later, that heritage still defines the place. The community is built around St. Mary’s Church, a striking stone church that seats a thousand. It’s often named among the most beautiful Catholic churches in Michigan. The township around it remains a tight-knit farming community, with deep German Catholic roots and traditions like the St. Mary Fourth of July picnic. The church stands at 201 N. Westphalia Street.