GERMAN VALLEY

Before the Chicago Great Western came through the county, there was a general store and one or two houses at the cross roads where German Valley, or Baalton, as it was then called, was located. With the advent of the railroad, in August, 1887, the present village was platted, and the town re-christened German Valley.

German Valley is the home of a number of wealthy farmers, who are descendants of the famous German colony that came to Ridott over half a century ago. The country about German Valley is most attractive, the fields are fertile and productive, and the farm houses and barns are trim and well kept. The village itself is far from. lively. There are half a dozen stores in operation, a creamery, a blacksmith shop, and a grain elevator owned by the H. A. Hillmer Co., of Freeport.

M. E. Church. The Methodist church of German Valley is of recent origin. The present church edifice was put up in 1903, the congregation having met about in various places before the building of the church. It is a frame structure, of a modern type of architecture, having cost about $2,500. The congregation also owns a new frame parsonage, located across the street from the church, which is worth about $1,500. The congregation numbers in the neighborhood of fifty communicants, with a Sunday school about as large. The Rev. Edward Breen is the pastor in charge.

There are no other churches in German Valley, but there are a number located within a radius of a mile or two, which are attended by the German Valley citizens. The German Reformed church is located a mile west of the town, and the Christian Reformed church two miles northeast.