St. Paul Roman Catholic Church (St. Paul, Oregon)

St. Paul Roman Catholic Church
Location St. Paul, Oregon
Coordinates 45°12′40″N 122°58′42″W / 45.21111°N 122.97833°W / 45.21111; -122.97833Coordinates: 45°12′40″N 122°58′42″W / 45.21111°N 122.97833°W / 45.21111; -122.97833
Area French Prairie
Built 1846[1]
Architectural style Gothic Revival[2]
NRHP reference # 79002098
Added to NRHP October 16, 1979[1]

The St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in St. Paul, Oregon, United States, was the first church in Oregon to be built with bricks when it was constructed in 1846.[3] It is the oldest brick building in the Pacific Northwest.[4] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1]

Background

In 1836, French Canadian pioneers on the French Prairie in the Willamette Valley built a log cabin chapel along the Willamette River near the Methodist Mission.[5] This structure was later moved to St. Paul and served as the church for the community until the current structure was built in 1846.[5] After several requests for a religious leader by the French Canadians in the Willamette Valley beginning in 1834, and a second request in 1836, the Roman Catholic Church sent several priests including François Norbert Blanchet to Oregon Country.[6] After receiving permission from the Hudson's Bay Company, Blanchet moved south of the Columbia River and gave the first Mass in the Willamette Valley on January 6, 1839.[7] While preaching to the Catholic community at that church, Blanchet lived behind the altar.[5] On December 11, 1843, Pope Gregory XVI created an apostolic vicarate out of Oregon with Blanchet as the archbishop.[6]

New building

After the original log structure burned down, parishioners decided to replace the old church with a brick structure.[8] On May 24, 1846, the cornerstone was laid on the new red-brick building.[8] Upon completion, Blanchet dedicated the new church building on November 1, 1846.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. June 6, 2011. p. 28. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  2. ↑ NationalRegisterofHistoricPlaces.com: Marion County, Oregon
  3. ↑ Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. p. 215.
  4. ↑ Edmonston, George P. Jr.; Patricia Filip. "Rewrites". A look at five OSU researchers who are revolutionizing their academic disciplines. Oregon Stater. Archived from the original on 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  5. 1 2 3 Chapman, J. S. (1993). French prairie ceramics: the Harriet D. Munnick archaeological collection, circa 1820-1860 : a catalog and Northwest comparative guide. Anthropology northwest, no. 8. Corvallis, Or: Dept. of Anthropology, Oregon State University.
  6. 1 2 Horner, John B. (1919). Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland.
  7. ↑ Blanchet, Francis Norbert, and Edward J. Kowrach. Historical sketches of the Catholic Church in Oregon. Fairfield, Wash.: Ye Galleon Press, 1983, p. 80
  8. 1 2 3 St Paul Catholic Church-St. Paul Oregon
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