Livingston in Park County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
St. Mary's Catholic Church
Livingston Westside Residential Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 24, 2021
1. St. Mary's Catholic Church Marker
Inscription.
St. Mary's Catholic Church. Livingston Westside Residential Historic District. Father Lawrence Palladino said the first Catholic mass at Livingston in the summer of 1883, on the cusp of the Northern Pacific Railroad’s arrival. The town was still a makeshift settlement of canvas tents and temporary dwellings. In 1884, Rev. J. B. Halton, Livingston’s first resident priest, set the cornerstone for this church on land donated by the Northern Pacific. Under Rev. A. Coopman, the simple, Gothic style brick church was finally completed in December 1890 and dedicated as St Mary’s on January 24, 1891. A new Catholic school (now the apartments diagonally across the street) was nearing completion when the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas, arrived to teach in 1914. They set up temporary classrooms in St. Mary’s sanctuary. For two months, sixty-four students sat on the pew kneelers, using the pews as desks. St. Mary’s continued to serve Catholics until 1967. At that time, construction of a new church and school on F Street prompted the Catholics to sell St. Mary’s to the Congregationalists. It has since served as the Livingston Congregational Church.
Father Lawrence Palladino said the first Catholic mass at Livingston in the summer of 1883, on the cusp of the Northern Pacific Railroad’s arrival. The town was still a makeshift settlement of canvas tents and temporary dwellings. In 1884, Rev. J. B. Halton, Livingston’s first resident priest, set the cornerstone for this church on land donated by the Northern Pacific. Under Rev. A. Coopman, the simple, Gothic style brick church was finally completed in December 1890 and dedicated as St Mary’s on January 24, 1891. A new Catholic school (now the apartments diagonally across the street) was nearing completion when the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas, arrived to teach in 1914. They set up temporary classrooms in St. Mary’s sanctuary. For two months, sixty-four students sat on the pew kneelers, using the pews as desks. St. Mary’s continued to serve Catholics until 1967. At that time, construction of a new church and school on F Street prompted the Catholics to sell St. Mary’s to the Congregationalists. It has since served as the Livingston Congregational Church.
Location. 45° 39.491′ N, 110° 33.617′ W. Marker is in Livingston, Montana, in Park County. It is at the intersection of South 3rd Street and West Clark Street, on the left when traveling north on South 3rd Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 226 South 3rd Street, Livingston MT 59047, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Yellowstone Country and in Greater Bozeman. It is also in the American Mountain West and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Goughnour Lumber Office (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); 221 South Yellowstone
Credits. This page was last revised on November 12, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 6, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 403 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on February 6, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
