St. Richard's Church is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

former

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church located in

Columbia Falls, Montana Columbia Falls is a city along the Flathead River in Flathead County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,308 at the 2020 census. Columbia Falls has been ranked as one of the best and safest places to live in Montana. History The ...

, United States, in the Diocese of Helena. St. Richard's was the first church in Northwestern Montana upon its completion in 1891. The clay used to make the bricks was sourced from the banks of the nearby

Flathead River The Flathead River (, , ), in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana, originates in the Canadian Rockies to the north of Glacier National Park and flows southwest into Flathead Lake, then after a journey of , empties into the Cla ...

. The building served as Columbia Falls' first public school during the weekdays. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the parish outgrew the church and moved to a larger building. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980. Today the building is privately owned.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Richard's Church, Columbia Falls, Montana Roman Catholic churches in Montana National Register of Historic Places in Flathead County, Montana Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana 1891 establishments in Montana Roman Catholic churches completed in 1891 Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena Gothic Revival church buildings in Montana

See also

References