Historical Society Learns History of St. John’s Church and Sunfish Community
PHOTO | Lynn Bledsoe
Lynn Bledsoe
Gimlet Managing Editor
Edmonson County Historical Society held its monthly meeting on July 17, 2025, at the Edmonson County Public Library. There were several new attendees at the meeting and the Society was glad to see interest growing.
Alex Salings spoke about St. John’s Church and the community of Sunfish.
Most of the early settlers of Sunfish came from Maryland in the early 1820’s. They established missions until 1839 when the first church was built. In 1938 the present church was built and dedicated. In 1941 the Sisters from St. Francis opened the school at St. John’s with grades 1-12. County schools were consolidated in 1959/60, but St. John’s endured beyond that time. It finally closed in 1971.
PHOTO | Lynn Bledsoe
In 1828 there were two voting precincts. One was at the courthouse in Brownsville the other was in Sunfish. The later precinct was sometimes referred to as the Durbin precinct.
Alex Saling did a wonderful job with presenting the information to the society.
