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River to Rail and Lemen Collection

St. Michael's Catholic Church

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St. Michael's Catholic Church

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Title	St. Michael's Catholic Church
Subject	Churches; Church schools; Catholic churches; Costigan, Frances; Stone buildings
Description	The Irish railroad workers, being a determined and resourceful lot, began to store the stone torn and blasted from the railroad cuts. It was hauled to the end of Third Street where it was piled and dressed and there the Irish began to build their church, St. Michael the Archangel. The land for the church had been donated by John McIntyre in two lots in 1837 and 1838. The Catholic priests in the parish may have prevailed upon the famous architect, Francis Costigan, a member of the congregation, to design the church. Since little money was available for other materials needed, it is said, the good Irish women raised money by tending feeder pigs to sell. They gathered the swill from the starch factory and hauled it in wooden tanks on ox carts to fatten the hogs. The hogs were sold at local markets and the money was donated to the church. In 1839, their efforts resulted in the beautiful Gothic-style church that still stands today as a tribute to those early Irish immigrants. It is the second oldest surviving Catholic church in Indiana and is now under the protection of Historic Madison, Inc. No religious ceremonies are held in the church but the building plays host to cultural and special events.
Creator	Harry Lemen, photographer
Contributors	Madison-Jefferson County Public Library; Jefferson County Historical Society
Date	Postcard dated circa 1910
Type	Postcard
Format	Original: tif, scanned at 1200dpi with a MicroTek ScanMaker 9800XL. Online: jpg, saved at 72dpi.
Identifier	"MJCPLstmichaels(master)"
Source	Harry Lemen Collection of the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library MJCPL Historical Files Madison Courier Historic Madison, Inc.
Rights	Permission to reproduce this image for other than personal use must be requested from the Director of the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library. Please contact at 420 W. Main St., Madison, IN 47250 (812) 265-2744.