Waldensians Come to the Ozarks

The Waldensian religious tradition began in France and Italy as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity long before the Protestant Reformation. Like nearly all ascetics, Waldensians emphasized living a simple life of poverty, isolated from the mainstream of society. The Waldensians clashed with the Catholic Church in the 13th century for their refusal to recognize the prerogative of bishops to dictate what should be preached or who was fit to preach. 

The Waldensians were ostracized by the Catholic Church and were declared heretics. Because of their emphasis on the priesthood of all believers (which essentially meant they thought any believer was fit to preach) and similar reasons, the Waldensians more or less foreshadowed the Protestant Reformation, and they were, indeed, absorbed into the Protestant movement in the 16th century.

In the late 1850s, a French-speaking colony of Waldensians immigrated from the Piedmont region of northern Italy, which was under French control at the time, to South America seeking a place to practice their religion free from persecution and discrimination. After enduring hardship for about 18 years, the small group returned to Europe briefly before setting out for the United States. 

Under the leadership of the Rev. J. P. Solomon, a party of 49 Waldensians arrived at Verona, Missouri, on the evening of July 12, 1875, with a view of settling in the Verona vicinity. Accordingly, they proceeded to establish a colony about three miles south of present-day Monett (which did not yet exist) on forty acres of land granted to them by the St. Louis and San Francisco (Frisco) Railroad to be used for "the glory of God."

The first year must have been consumed largely just by efforts to survive, because Solomon did not get around to actually establishing a Waldensian church until over a year later.  On the fifth Sunday in July 1876, the Waldensians and their friends gathered on the colony grounds near Solomon's residence, and he organized the first Waldensian church in the United States, following "the time-honored customs of the Waldensian synod." The church's bylaws or guidelines were written in French, but after a break for a basket dinner, Solomon conducted the first Waldensian service under a nearby arbor in the English language for the benefit of friends of the group who did not speak French. Although the church had few members at first, more Waldensian immigrants were expected during the next few yea

Apparently, the Waldensians were received rather well by their neighbors if editorial comment from a Mount Vernon newspaper can be taken as an indication. The Mt. Vernon Fountain and Journal remarked at the time of the church's organization, "These people will no doubt make the best of citizens, and we should extend to them a hearty welcome."

 In 1877, the Waldensian colony south of present-day Lamar apparently receive an influx of new members. At any rate, several families, including five from France, two from the valleys of northern Italy and one from New York State, expressed their intention of joining the colony.

In the summer of 1879, when a correspondent of the Canton (MO) Press News visited the southwest Missouri Waldensians, the colony consisted of about 20 families. Most had come during the original migration in 1875, but a few families had arrived the previous year. 

Today, the Waldensian Presbyterian Church of Barry County is still going strong, The current church building, erected on a part of the original forty acres, was constructed in 1909. In the summer of 2025, the church celebrated its 150th anniversary, and it is still one of the very few Waldensian churches in the United States.