Kidder
St. Mathias Mission

The 1886 History of Caldwell County states that Catholic services were held in Kenney's Hall. The context for the statement indicates that this started in 1870. This would almost agree with the CD (Catholic Directory) which first reports a mission in the town in the 1870 edition.

There is presumably a connection between the Patrick S. Kenney, mentioned in the 1886 History of Caldwell County on pages 567-568 as a Kidder resident, and the Kenney Cemetery located six miles east of Cameron. This cemetery is described in the 1977 History of Clinton County as a free burial site for Catholics of the area (page 215).

In the 1870 edition of the CD, it is stated that Kidder is a parish with a mission at Breckenridge. Evidently it was quickly seen that this was not working for in the following year's edition, Kidder is reported as a mission of Cameron and it remained that way until 1911. It is not mentioned in the 1912 edition.