Historic Pelham Blog Archive
September 12, 2007

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In December, 2005 I posted to the Historic Pelham Blog a brief account of the origins of St. Catharine's Roman Catholic Church in the Village of Peham. See Tuesday, December 6, 2005: The Origins of St. Catharine's Roman Catholic Church in the Village of Pelham, New York. In that posting I referenced an article that appeared on Christmas Day, 1895 in the New York Times announcing plans to build the church. Below I have transcribed that article in its entirety, followed by a citation to its source. Immediately below is an image of a postcard showing the church building in about 1920.

"CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR PELHAMVILLE

-----

Ground to be Broken in January -- Plan of the New Building.

PELHAMVILLE, N. Y., Dec. 24. -- It has been decided to build a Catholic Church here. The church will stand on a lot near the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Blessed Redeemer.

The lot is the gift of Patrick Farrell. It is 100 feet square. Five hundred dollars have been contributed for the building. Crosses and seven stained glass windows have also been presented.

In order to build a church here, where the need of one has been felt a long time, it was necessary to obtain the consent of the Rev. John Anthony Kellner, Rector of St. Gabriel's Church, New-Rochelle, in whose parish Pelhamville is. The request for the church was granted by Father Kellner, after he had obtained the sanction of Archbishop Corrigan.

There are in this vicinity more than fifty representative Catholic families. The Rev. Father Kellner said to-day that the outlook for the new church was most promising, and it was certain to increase rapidly in strength. Considerable assistance is expected from New-Rochelle and Mount Vernon.

The church will be Gothic in style. It will have a seating capacity of 350 persons. The dimensions will be 35 feet by 76 feet. It will be a frame structure, with a bell tower over the sacristy. The basement will be of stone. Promise has been made by several persons of Pelhamville to construct the basement free of charge.

Ground will be broken for the foundation in January, and it is expected to have the building completed in June."

Source: Catholic Church For Pelhamville, N.Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1895, p. 16.

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