Oschwald, the founder of a secular institute, wanted to create a village whose members would observe the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience according to their states of life.

The entire congregation relocated to America that year as Oschwald believed "it was impossible to build up in the native Black Forest in Baden, Germany a Catholic village and/or parish which would be essentially geared to the pursuit of Christian perfection through the obersvation (sic) of the evangelical counsels by all its members, married, single and celibate (cloistered), it was decided to go to America and stamp this enterprise out of the virgin soil of a newly opened up territory..."[3] After Oschwald's death in 1873, the community began to decline, and in 1896, after a visit from Fr.

Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan, the land and operations were turned over to the order he had founded, the Society of the Divine Saviour, or Salvatorians.

Melvin Tracy, who taught environmental studies, won $26,000 in federal grants to develop an "ecologically self-sufficient" house, heated by solar energy and powered by a windmill.

[7] JFK Prep supported the idea of education as a means to self-actualization, and took a student-directed pedagogical approach advocated by James Hanlon, president of Marian College.

Together, they took JFK Prep to the state championship final in 1975, a game in which the younger Crowe scored 45 points, but the team lost to Racine Lutheran High School 72–58.

[9] Ingrid Washinawatok, noted Native American rights advocate (later kidnapped and murdered by the FARC in Columbia), is also a JFK Prep graduate.

[10] Jim and Linda Frasch of United Ministries acquired the property in 2008 and have been renovating other buildings for use as a summer and winter camp for children.