A History of St. Patrick’s Church, Oneida

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Oneida had its origins in 1843 when the Rev. Beecham offered the first Mass in Patrick Moran’s log structure house on Liberty Street. Later ten families constructed a small mission church that seated 30 persons on N. Main Street.

In 1851, due to the influx of many immigrants, mostly from Ire-land, St. Patrick’s was established as a parish with the Rev. Patrick Kenna as pastor. The land of the present church site was purchased for S184, and the first church was built of brick for $2,800. By 1880 the Catholie population reached 3000 persons, and the Rev. James Kelly and a building committee chosen by the congregation projected to build the present church on the same site. Construction began on April 9th with the cornerstone laid on June 17th. Gray stone, because of its uniform hardness and tenacity, was quarried from Higginsville for the building. The roller skating rink (later Sullivan’s garage) served as the interim church for services. The present church building was dedicated on November 24, 1889 for a total cost of $75,466. A tenth anniversary of the church was celebrated on May 30, 1899 with the dedication of the three marble altars and the Morey pipe organ and with Father Kelly’s coinciding 25th anniversary. The marble Stations of the Cross was installed by November 26, 1899.

Between 1920-1935 the invaluable stained glass windows imported from Germany that depicted the lives of Jesus and Mary were installed by memorial donations. New chimes, new altar rails and a carpeted sanctuary were added in 1941, and by the 50’s the church basement was refurbished for activities and the choir loft was completed with pews. The fruits of parishioner support flourished through the years, and on September 24, 1921 the church community expanded with the dedication of the school and the convent under the pastorate of Rev. Jon McGraw and tutelage the sister servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The dedicated spirit of the parish remained steadfast in adjusting to the changes of Vatican II, and spirit of the founders was rekindled and enriched in the transcending generations who refurbished and maintained the parish established over a century and a half ago. In the sixties the addition of the wooden altar-table and wooden lectern for the priest and reader to face the congregation were added. In the seventies, the church underwent a successful grouting for stabilizing, major interior refurbishing and redecorating, and the first Eucharistic Ministers were appointed. The marble altars were repaired and cleaned along with refurbishing the sanctuary and the addition of the piano in the eighties. In the nineties, the front entrances to the church were renovaled with new steps, an elevator entrance was added, and the pipe organ was restored with the addition of a console area of the sanctuary which was remodeled to accommodate for the music ministry

Recently the beautiful rose window in the steeple has been restored, and presently the restoration of the stained glass windows throughout the church nave has begun.

In 1983 the location of St. Patrick’s parish was listed in the national Registry of Historic Places with significant architecture and engineering.