Kraft, (Verkhnaya Graesnukha or Werchnaja Grjasnucha) was established in 1767 in the Canton of Kamenka with approximately 246 settlers.  By the spring of 1768, there were 211 settlers.  By 1912, the estimated population was 6,572 people.  The Kraft settlement was located about 11 miles west of the Volga river in the area known as the Bergseite (hillyside), along the Gryaznukha River.  The settlers of Kraft were for the most part farmers.  In addition, a number had specialized skills such as metal working, weaving, milling and pottery.  The chairman of the community, and the man for whom the village was named, was Johan Kraft. There are indications that several of the original settlers came from Alsfeld, Germany, and other areas of the Hesse region.

The 1798 census listed 223 male inhabitants and 209 females comprising 68 familes. All were of the Lutheran faith and part of the Stephan parish. All of the inhabitants were engaged in farming. There were two metal smiths, a blacksmith, three shoemakers, four weavers and several tailors.

The population of Kraft declined to 2,759 by 1926.  David R. Schultheiss, born 1913 in Kraft, wrote an article about the village entitled Kraft: My Birthplace and Hometown as I Remember it. The article appeared in the AHSGR Journal Vol. 10, No. 1, Spring 1987.

By clicking on the photo on the left, you will open a larger photo of Kraft taken on Oct 8, 1942. It is a reproduction of a captured WW II German photo now in the National Archives. The stream Grasnukha flows from a north-east direction and separates the villages of Goebel (lower left) and Kraft (lower right). With the help of the map of Kraft by David Schulteiss in the Spring 1987 AHSGR Journal, one can pick out landmarks of Kraft. This photo may take a few seconds to load.

Dick Bowland, visited the Lower Volga area in 1995. Dick shares his pictures and experiences. The person in the picture on the left is the tour organizer. Kraft is in the background.

Kraft Families

Reicherts of Kraft
Schimpf/ Hopp Family from Dobrinka & Kraft

Kraft Surnames in 1767 census.

Af, Baltzer, Barbakh, Baets, Benkel, Bicher, Boehm, Bot, Breit, Brotsman, Ebirlink, Eizer, Endrikh, Ek, Ens, Erikh, Ert, Felter, Frank

Gan, Hellwig, Karg, Khokh, Khop, Khrots, Koberkh, Kraft, Krep, Lauta, Lauterbach, Lind, Luft, Mann, Mioller, Neb, Pertorom, Pfeifer, Reibert (Reichert), Reksibik, Rot, Ruehl

Sauer, Schmidt, Schneider, Schultz, Schwab, Schwindt, Seib, Shinf, Shmit, Shneider, Shreiner, Shrib, Shturts (Sterts?), Shultes, Sinert, Sinner, Sprengel, Stein, Taubert, Tempel, Tempil, Tson, Unger, Veimert, Veitzel, Volf (Wolf), Will.

Kraft Surnames in the 1798 Census.

Albrecht, Becker, Beisel, Bem, Bender, Berkle, Bertram, Betger, Betram (Bertram), Betger (Böttger), Betz, Binder, Bischoff, Block, Born, Bott, Bran(d)t, Brekeser, Brester (Prester), Brotzmann, Bukhgamer, Busch, Eberhard, Eg (Eck, Och?), Ekart (Eckhardt), Emel?, Englehardt, Farbakhk, Faurbakh, Felker (Volker), Fischer, Folker, Frank, Fritseler (Fritzler), Funk

Gaist (Geist), Gas (Haas), Gek (Heck?), Gelfdebain, Gen (Henne?), Genshing, Ginter (Gunter), Gofel (Hofele), Gop (Hopp), Gorsch, Gotz, Gross, Guttman, Hancschuh, Helwig, Helzer, Ipgefer (Iphofer?), Jakel, Kal (Kohl?), Karg (Karch), Keller, Kimel (Kummel), Kin (Kuhn), Kleis, Koch, Kohlberg, Kraft, Kramer, Kretz(Kretz), Kuhn, Lang, Lerch, Liebers, Lind, Liver (Liever?), Liz  (Lies?), Lotz, Luft

Maier, Mak (Mack?), Muller, Neb (Nab), Ninshtil (Nunstill?), Reichert, Reinwald, Reksius (Rexius), Repp, Rieger, Riegert, Ruppel, Saip (Seib), Schafer, Schimper, Schlotthauer, Schmidt, Schneider, Schreiner, Schultheis, Schwab, Seifert, Shprenikel?, Shtaernagel (Sternhagel?), Shtirts (Sturtz), Shtreb (Strub), Siegel, Siegward, Sigwart (Seigward), Sokolowsky, Spengler, Spielmann, Stein, Steinlein, Stephan Svind (Schwindt?)

Tempel, Truts?, Utschmit, Val (Wahl), Venik, Vikert, Vil (Will), Virts, Vogel, Voog (Vogt?), Wagner, Walter, Weimer, Weisel, Will,

Kraft families who immigrated to America.

Asmus, Bauer, Becker, Bertram, Brandt, Butz, Conway, Eckhardt Fischer, Fisher, Foos, Fourtner, Gabel, Gammel, Geist, Graeb, Greb, Haffner, Hefner, Hein, Herber, Hoffman, Hopp, Huffman Karst, Koehler, Kraft, Krening, Kroskob,

Lauck, Lenhart, Lind, Loos, Loose, Manweiler, Meier, Melcher, Meyer, Neb, Needens, Niedens, Ostwald, Owl

Reed, Reichert, Reinhardt, Reisbeck, Reisig, Riffel, Roth, Ruhl, Ruppel, Rupple, Rusch, Sagel, Schauermann, Schillereff, Schimpf, Schimph, Schlothauer, Schlothauser, Schlotthauer, Schmidt, Schneider, Schreiner, Schultheiss, Schultz,

Seib, Sell, Sigwardt, Simon, Spadi, Stark, Stirtz, Teckovich, Temple, Trupp, Wagner, Ward, Weber, Weimer, Weirner, Wolf, Wymer, Yost

AHSGR Kraft Village Coordinator: Ron Burkett

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