Tschetter Hutterite Bruderhof, of the Schmiedeleut branch, located near Olivet, Hutchinson County, South Dakota, was founded in 1890 by members of the Wolf Creek colony. In 1918 they sold the property and founded the Rosebud Bruderhof near Redland, Alberta. In 1941 the original (South Dakota) site was bought and rebuilt by Brethren from the Barickman commune near Headingly, Manitoba; fourteen families and David Decker, who was chosen to the ministry in 1931 and confirmed on 27 December 1936, formed the new Tschetter Bruderhof. Jacob Wipf was chosen preacher in 1948; he was the leader of a group of ten families from the Tschetter Bruderhof who established the Gracevale Bruderhof in Winfred, South Dakota, in 1950, where he was ordained. Paul Decker was chosen as preacher at Tschetter in 1952 and ordained in 1957. In 1958 the Tschetter Bruderhof had 40 baptized members in a population of 142. Gracevale had 30 baptized members.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 753. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

To cite this page: