Bohemians & Their Churches

Along Spiritual lines the Bohemians of Johnson county divide into three more or less distinct groups - Catholics, Protestants and those who do not affiliate with any church - the latter chiefly of Protestant or Hussite antecedents.

Perhaps the first Bohemian minister to come to Johnson county was Father S(h)pac(h)ek, who came to Iowa City in the fifties.  He was later succeeded by Father Urban. The first Bohemian Catholic church established in Johnson county was the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Cedar township in 1863. The second was St. Mary's church in Newport township, and the third St. Vaclav's (St. Wenceslaus) church in Iowa City, which was built in 1893.

So far as known the first Protestant Bohemian minister in the county was Rev. Francis Kun who came to Jefferson township in 1860, and served the old Protestant colony in northern Johnson and southern Linn counties. The old church west of Ely in Linn county, built in 1868, is still in use and is one of the oldest Bohemian Protestant churches in the county. The Bethlehem Chapel, or as it is usually called, the Chadima Church, is an off-shoot from the Ely church. It is located in section 2 in Monroe township.

Source: Leading Events in Johnson County, IA  pg. 905