Catharine

History

Volga German immigrants founded and settled Catharine in April 1876, naming it after Katharinenstadt, the town they came from in Russia. Katharinenstadt was the economic center of the German colonies in Russia and, as a result, Catharine's settlers were initially wealthier than those of other Volga German settlements in the area. More German settlers from Katharinenstadt arrived over the next two years followed by Austrians from Moravia beginning in 1878. The community's first school opened in 1879 and doubled as a church until the completion of St. Catherine's Catholic Church in 1892.

Geography

Catharine lies on the eastern side of North Fork Big Creek, part of the Smoky Hill River watershed, in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains. Catharine is roughly north of Interstate 70 and northeast of Hays, the county seat.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,519
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  1,910
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,668
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  1,564
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,321
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,261
• Common Grackle

  Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  981
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  962