Celestine, IN

Celestine sits in Hall Township in Dubois County, a small southern Indiana community whose name and street pattern grew around the Catholic parish on the hill. Father Joseph Kundek bought land and platted the town in 1843, naming it for Celestine René Laurent Guynemer de la Hailandière, the second bishop of the Diocese of Vincennes. German Catholic families helped shape the settlement’s early years, and St. Celestine Catholic Church remains its clearest landmark.

ATTRRobert M. Lavinsky / CC BY-SA 3.0

The post office arrived in 1851, and the village’s older commercial life included Hasenour’s store, Buchart’s store, and Miller’s Restaurant. Celestine Elementary, first built in 1922, later closed; the building was sold to the Catholic Diocese in 2020 and demolished in 2024. Northeast Dubois schools now serve the next stage of students after elementary years. The local story is a blend of faith, farming, and family ties, with Jasper and Patoka Lake providing the larger nearby reference points. Celestine’s name, church, and hilltop setting still point back to the community Father Kundek laid out in the 1840s.