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In the Beginning...
In the 1890 Census, the city of Tacoma had a population of
36,000. History books called it the "city of destiny", and the
economy was booming. Then in 1891, after several years of "boom"
the economy slowed. At this time there were three Catholic
churches in Tacoma; St. Leo's, the oldest, was located at South
D and 11th; Holy Rosary, at its present location, and St.
Mary's, at S. Yakima near 23rd Street. These churches were under
the leadership of the Most Reverend Aegedius Junger, Bishop of
the Archdiocese of Nisqually.
The Pastor of St. Mary's, Rev. William Emonds, came to Tacoma
from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, earlier in 1891, to build the new
church. Because of the close proximity of the three churches and
the recognized need of a church in Old Town, the Bishop gave
permission to dissolve St. Mary's and to establish St. Patrick
Church in the Old Town section of Tacoma. An announcement was
made at an early Mass on Christmas Day that the next Mass would
be celebrated on December 25, 1891, in a two story building
owned by Campbell and Powell, attorneys in Tacoma. The building
was located at Starr and Tacoma Avenue.
Early in the Spring of 1892, a small 30' x 40' frame church was
built on the corner of Tacoma Avenue and Starr, on property
leased from Tacoma Land Company. The monthly rent was $10.00.
The building was built with lumber donated from the old Tacoma
Mill and volunteer labor donated by Messrs. Harrington and
Smith. The newly completed church received a statue of St.
Patrick from the Timothy Murphy Family.
This statue and the statue of St. Anthony were blessed in the
church on March 17,1892. The small church had a main altar and a
small side altar of our Blessed Lady. The twelve pews provided
more than adequate seating for the fewer than fifty
parishioners; of these six were men. The Parish's first organist
and choir director Miss Josie Mahony (Mrs. J. C. Murphy).
The modest wooden church building also served as the Parish
school. The Pastor, Margaret Casey and Josie Mahoney were the
teachers. At this time The Ladies Altar Society was established,
and it continues today. The men formed the Elmira Club; it was
established to secure funds for the maintenance of the church.
Also, the League of the Sacred Heart was established for the
spiritual advancement of the parishioners.
In May of 1893, the economy that had been slowing, stopped. It
was referred to as the "crash" or "panic" of 1893. A large
number of businesses closed; many people removed their savings
from the banks before they closed. The general population,
unable to find work or food, lived off the land, eating berries
and clams. There was no state or local aid available for such
emergencies. People with money began buying one-way tickets
East. It was at this time that the Dominican Sisters arrived in
Tacoma to establish a school for St. Patrick Parish. It was to
be the first free parochial school west of the Mississippi
River. The Dominican Sisters were Mother Thomasina, Mother
DeChantel and Sister Aloysius.
1896 - St. Patrick's Church and St. Catherine's Convent
at the corner of Starr & North G St.
Photo from the 1991 Parish Centennial Calendar
Mrs. Hanna Oldfield of 2714 McCarver provided rooms for the
Sisters in her home until they purchased property on the corner
of Starr and G Streets for their convent and school. Shortly
after their arrival, the St. Patrick Church building was
physically moved to the Dominican's newly purchased property
after the leased property on Starr and Tacoma was reclaimed by
the Old Tacoma Land Company. During these poor economic times,
the Parish, under the direction of Father Emonds, provided a
"soup house" free of charge for all the needy who came for help.
The economy slowly regained strength, especially during the
summer of 1897, when Seattle papers reported the arrival of
steamships from Alaska carrying million dollar cargoes of gold.
The prospect of gold stimulated business in the Northwest.
Merchants began outfitting the miners who passed through Seattle
in route to the gold in Alaska.
It was in 1899 that Father Emonds, due to failing health,
departed for Germany. The Rev. LeBlanc (of All Saints Parish in
Puyallup, Washington) was appointed Pastor replacing Rev. Emonds.
Some of the early parishioners who helped in the infancy of St.
Patrick Parish were:
John M. Boyle John Nolan Pat Finnegan
McNerthney Family S.T. Babock D.D. McDonald
Mrs. Dennis Coleman Mrs. Anna Oldfield Mrs. Donovan
John McCann John Geehan Gus Fufleson
H.J. Marshall Wm. Casey Mrs. George Hill
Mrs. L.D. Campbell Mrs. Waldo
In May of 1899, the Parish purchased from the Dominicans the
property upon which the church stood at Starr and G Streets. The
Sisters had purchased the Col. Pinkerton property across the
street for the future home of Aquinas (the present site of St.
Patrick School). The cornerstone for the first Aquinas building
was laid on June 13, 1899.
This information was compiled by Joan M. Christnacht.
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