Father DeSmet's Prairie Mass Site

Father DeSmet's Prairie Mass Site
Nearest city Daniel, Wyoming
Coordinates 42°52′10″N 110°2′29″W / 42.86944°N 110.04139°W / 42.86944; -110.04139Coordinates: 42°52′10″N 110°2′29″W / 42.86944°N 110.04139°W / 42.86944; -110.04139
Area less than one acre
NRHP reference # 70000676[1]
Added to NRHP April 28, 1970

Father DeSmet's Prairie Mass Site, located about one mile east of Daniel, Wyoming, is the site of the first Catholic mass in Wyoming.[2] The mass was conducted on July 5, 1840, by Jesuit missionary Pierre-Jean De Smet. A congregation of 2,000 people, composed of Native Americans, trappers, and traders from the region, attended the service. A stone altar was constructed for the mass and a granite cross enclosed by a small chapel was later added to the altar site. The service was one of the earliest Christian religious ceremonies conducted in the Rocky Mountain region.[3] The Prairie Mass Site lies approximately at the confluence of the Green River and its tributary Horse Creek. A commemorative mass is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday after the 4th in July every year at 10:00 AM MST. Mass is facilitated by the parish Our Lady of Peace located in Pinedale, WY.

The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 28, 1970.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Official State Highway Map of Wyoming (Map). Wyoming Department of Transportation. 2014. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ↑ Barnhart, Bill (December 19, 1969). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Father DeSmet's Prairie Mass Site". National Park Service. Retrieved June 3, 2013.


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