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St. Mary's R. C. Church.
The earliest records of services being held in the Catholic faith in Port
Washington were those held in the homes of parishioners in 1847, when the
congregation contained just three families. By 1849, the congregation
numbered twelve families and a small frame church (non-extant) called St.
Mary's Church was built in that year on two lots on the bluff north of the
downtown donated to the congregation by Hiram Johnson, for whom Johnson
St. would later be named. By 1860, regular services were being held, a
school had been started and plans for a new church were begun. "On the
first of July, 1860, the |
cornerstone of the present [1881] church
edifice was laid, the building completed the same year at a cost of $7000.
It is a handsome stone structure, 40x80 feet."(1) A new school
building –a two-story brick building, 33x60 feet –was completed next to
the 1860 church in 1870 and a sister house for the teaching order of nuns
who ran it was attached to the rear of the south wall of the school as
well (all non-extant).(2) By 1881, this predominantly
German-speaking congregation numbered almost 1100 members and plans for a
new church were begun, the plans being pro vided
by prominent Milwaukee architect Henry Messmer. The large new cut stone
Gothic Revival style church ca.431 N. Johnson St. (NRHP 12-12-77), was
finished at a total cost of $70,000 in 1884 and its size and highly
prominent position upon the bluff top instantly made it the city's most
visible landmark. In about 1900 a new Queen Anne Style brick rectory
(non-extant) was built just to the west of the church, and in 1911, a new
brick American Foursquare Style convent for the sisters was built (430 N.
Johnson St.) next door to the 1870 one. In 1916, a new school building
(446 N. Johnson St.) was built on the site of the 1860 church building and
the 1870 school building and convent and it was expanded in 1952.(3)
Today, these three buildings–church, school, and convent/parish hall–are
still in very good condition and in active use on the site that is still
sometimes called "St. Mary's Heights" or "Church Hill." |
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Other photo's of St Mary's Church
From City of Port site:
From Ozaukee County Centennial photo section
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