St. Patrick's Parish Complex on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
St. Patrick's Parish Complex is a historic church building, with associated rectory and cemetery, located at Northfield Church and Whitmore Lake Roads in
In the early 19th century, a number of
Old St Patrick Church
homepage {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Patricks Parish Complex Roman Catholic churches completed in 1878 Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Gothic Revival church buildings in Michigan Churches in Washtenaw County, Michigan Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Washtenaw County, Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Washtenaw County, Michigan 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Buildings and structures in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1982 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976. The complex is significant both because of its historical association with the early Irish Catholics
Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...
in the area, and because of the architecturally important Gothic revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
church.
History
In the early 19th century, a number of Irish Catholics
Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...
began settling in this area of Michigan. In 1829, Kilkenny, Ireland
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The ...
native Father Patrick O'Kelly was dispatched to the area to minister to the growing community. The property upon which the present church now stands was purchased in 1831, and a log structure was constructed to serve as the first parish church. The parish was originally named "St. Brigid," and is the oldest English-speaking Catholic parish in the state.
Construction on the current church building was begun in 1875 and completed in 1878; the parish was renamed "St. Patrick's" at that time. A rectory was added in 1889-90. In 1917, a tornado badly damaged both the church and the rectory; both were rebuilt. The church is still used for weekly services.
Description
The St. Patrick's Parish complex contains a church with associated cemetery and rectory. The church is a red brickGothic revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
structure on a rough-hewn stone foundation. The façade of the church is symmetric, with a square central tower surmounted by an octagonal spire. The entrance is through a gabled projection at the base of the tower. A lancet window
A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...
pierces the tower, and similar windows run along the building sides.
The nearby rectory is a two-story center entrance brick structure.
References
Further reading
* *External links
Old St Patrick Church
homepage {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Patricks Parish Complex Roman Catholic churches completed in 1878 Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Gothic Revival church buildings in Michigan Churches in Washtenaw County, Michigan Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Washtenaw County, Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Washtenaw County, Michigan 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Buildings and structures in Ann Arbor, Michigan