St. Patrick's Church - Havre de Grace, MD - Historic Preservation Awards on Waymarking.com

Taken from the website, "When Father James P. Fitzgerald ordered a granite monument to be placed in 1896 on a hill at Havre de Grace, there were still members of his congregation at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in town, who knew and remembered the subject of the monument. As the city was rapidly growing at the turn of the century, however, there were more who had no knowledge of the former church carved into the granite surface.

It was cold and fairly blustery day when a tarp was placed over the granite monument to be unveiled by the small group of faithful who followed Fitzgerald across the frosty ground of the small cemetery on Nov. 10, 1896. The group gathered about the monument and the priest said a few words, which history, sadly, has not recorded.

The monument remains today placed on the exact spot where the first Catholic church in Havre de Grace once stood. The small frame structure was opened for services in 1844, known then as St. James the Less Catholic Church. It was the predecessor of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Congress Avenue in Havre de Grace.

The monument is located within the boundaries of Mt. Erin Cemetery, on a hill to the north of Havre de Grace on the south side of Grace View Drive, less than a half mile off Route 155. The granite monument with a Latin cross atop it marks the location of that first church, and is quite prominent on the landscape of the cemetery. The eastern face of the monument reads, “Here stood the First Catholic Church at Havre de Grace, Md., built Anno Domini ’43-1845-43’ by Rev. James Reid. This stone erected November 10, 1896, James P. Fitzgerald, Pastor.”

Mt. Erin Cemetery is rather unique as the cemetery is divided into two sections. The west side in which the monument stands, is the Roman Catholic burial ground belonging to the current St. Patrick’s Church. The eastern section is marked “St. James” and belongs to the nearby and active St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The long-forgotten St. James Church in Havre de Grace was not only the forerunner to today’s St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, it had its start on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1842, when Father James Reid purchased 14 lots from Ezra and Eliza Reed of Havre de Grace for $150. That first church was a small frame structure for which the cornerstone was laid in 1843 and services conducted in 1844.

It was only three years later, in 1847, that a new stone edifice was begun in downtown Havre de Grace, perhaps the congregation had grown or perhaps the congregants wanted a closer church edifice to attend.

Interestingly, if you visit St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, it is a visit to the church built in 1907. The earlier or second Catholic edifice built in town is remembered through foundations, surmounted by a later structure and the rectory, at the corner of North Stokes and Warren streets."

Award Collection: 2007 - Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission Number of award plaques:: no Sites web address: [Web Link] Type of awarded site: Single building Other type. Please explain: N/A

Visit Instructions:

---

Tell us about your visit and take at least one picture of the site.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.