St. Patrick Church - Union Lake, Michigan
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S5280ft
N 42° 37.791 W 083° 27.715
17T E 298127 N 4722649
Located within the cemetery on the east side of Union Lake Road, between Hutchens and Haymarket Streets. Parking is available at the NEW St. Patrick Church across the road.
Waymark Code: WM22RV
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 08/25/2007
Views: 226
From the State of Michigan Historic Preservation office website:
Narrative Description:
St. Patrick's Catholic Church is a one-story, clapboard-sheathed, Greek Revival structure's with a wide frieze, cornice returns, and regular fenestration. The simple building's front facade is broken only by a pair of paneled doors surrounded by a plain lintel door frame.
Statement of Significance:
St. Patrick's Catholic Church was constructed in 1840 by Irish immigrants who first settled in Oakland County during the 1830s. The congregation outgrew the building by the 1880s and built a new church across the road. In the 1960s another structure was added to the complex, which provides a physical reminder of the growth and development of the congregation and remains the focal point for community life and for the continuation of the Irish heritage which dominates the surrounding "Dublin" residential area. The first church remains in use for occasional ceremonial and social functions.
From the Michigan Historical Marker on-site:
ST. PATRICK CHURCH
This white clapboard edifice was built by Irish immigrants in 1840. It is believed to be the oldest existing frame Catholic Church building in the Lower Peninsula. This area was one of the earliest in Michigan to be settled by Irish immigrants who arrived during the 1830s. The parish was organized in 1839 with about thirty members. Their numbers increased when the potato famine of 1845 in Ireland forced thousands of others to the United States. Having outgrown this tiny structure by the 1880s, the congregation traveled to Pontiac, Milford and other areas until approximately 1950, when a permanent parish was established here in Union Lake. Maintaining its original floors, walls and windows, this edifice is still used for ceremonial purposes. Today the surrounding neighborhood is know as the “Dublin” area.
Website with background information about this Waymark: [Web Link]
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