GLUCKSTADT, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Gluckstadt is ever growing and expanding.

The city was settled in 1905. German descendants from Klaasville, Indiana, purchased farmland from the Highland Colony Company at Calhoun, Mississippi, for $22,000. Optimistically, they changes the name of the community to Gluckstadt, which means Lucky City.

Gluckstadt wouldn’t officially become a city until more than century later.

Kerry Minninger, a descendant from another German-American family who joined the growing community, played a big part in making Gluckstadt what it is today.

“My great grandfather was one of the original settlers, and then my grandfather came down, also followed him down and had a dairy farm here just north of the church. He had 160 acre dairy farm. And so, I actually spent a good bit of my childhood on the dairy farm,” said Minninger.

In 1908, the early families suffered a tremendous blow when they found out that they did not actually own the land they had lived on for three years. They discovered that the Highland Colony Company never owned the land they sold these families. The land that the settlers bought and paid cash for actually still belong to three widows, and the company had only taken an option on the land, having never actually purchased it.

“Of course, they were devastated. They knew what they were going to do. But their strong Catholic faith stepped in, and they went to the priest that was coming to Columbus that and told him what was going on. And he helped them work through a law firm in Jackson, and the law firm was very helpful. And back then, they had a land grant, and so they knew of a land grant that was available. And they had that land paid off, I think completely paid off by 1919,” Minninger said.

In 2021, Gluckstadt was finally incorporated into a city. It took three different times, several years and with support from the community.

Louise Andy and her late husband moved to Gluckstadt in the 60s. In fact, her sons still farm land in the middle of Gluckstadt. Andy said the area has changed, but the spirit of the community remains the same.

“The people here that I met when I came out in the late 60s were so welcoming, and they were easy to me. They were glad to meet us, glad to have us in the community,” she said.

Gluckstadt is also home to Germantown High School, which is expanding just like the city.

“We’re so excited that as our community grows and our school grows, that our school district has provided us with, you know, space as we grow. We added a new wing with 24 state of the art classrooms. Our new performing arts center is going to be the crown jewel, I believe, of our school district is just amazing. The size and the detail that’s going into it. And it’s going to be a place for our school and our school district and our community to gather and see all of these great things that our students are doing every day,” said Cody Zumbro, principal of Germantown High School.

The school opened in August 2011. In 2024, it provides many opportunities for students, like the Academy of Healthcare Excellence Program.

“We have an awesome opportunity here at Germantown to have a healthcare academy. It’s for 9th through 12th grade. They start in 9th grade, and they start with the basics, medical terminology, infection control, things like that. We build on that. Their 10th grade year, they do a lot of anatomy and physiology. At the end of their 10th grade year, they can choose to go clinical services or sports medicine. With clinical services, they learn all different kinds of careers. They learn hospital skills, all different CPR, first aid, and then they get to do an internship where they get to pick something they’re interested in and go into that,” said Melinda Brady, a teacher.

That’s not all the school has to offer. Germantown High’s Legacy Choir swept the Inaugural Athena Festival in Nashville, bringing home the overall grand prize.

“It was a really fun experience, and we did get to take that home with us. It was a lot of fun. My favorite part is how we all come from different backgrounds, and we all have different experiences with like what we’re involved in at school. But the one thing that we can all be united on, it’s music, and we can just leave everything outside of the door when we come in there and just sing something,” said Ella Applegate, a junior at Germantown High School.

This is the 14th year for the high school band program. Justin Harvison, the founding director of the program, said they got their eyes on nationals.

“We’ve won three state championships since we started as a band in 2011. Numerous, best in class, numerous grand champion awards at different at varying competitions. We’ve also gone to Bands of America, which is a national band competition throughout the throughout the country, and we’ve gone to super regional in St. Louis. There’s about 75 bands there from all over the country, Texas, California, everywhere. And this past year, we came in 8th out of about 70 bands. So, that was a huge moment for us as a band program,” said Harvison.

Thanks for signing up!

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Daily News

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV.