St. Munchin Mission Established 1857

It is said that the first Mass celebrated in Cameron took place in 1846 and Father Thomas Scanlan from St. Joseph, MO, presided. From time to time mass was offered in the section house in which Michael O'Brien lived. In 1851 John and Patrick Denneen, Hannorah Slattery, the Patrick Hinchey family, Mr. and Mrs. James Hartigan, sons James and Thomas, and the John Ward family came to the area from Limerick, Ireland, settling south of the town. This may be the connection to the name chosen for the parish. St. Munchin is one of the patrons of the Diocese of Limerick, which he founded in the year 630.

In 1857 when Father (later Bishop) John Hogan came to northwest Missouri there were perhaps 12 Catholic families in the area, mostly laborers on the Hannibal-St. Joseph railroad. In fact, it is said that the parish was established for their convenience. Once the railroad was finished from Hannibal to St. Joseph in 1859, Hogan, who used the railroad to get from one large town to another, set up a Mass schedule for a year in advance so people would know when and where Sunday Mass would be celebrated. Of the five places where Mass was scheduled, Cameron was the last to have been established and therefore only had Mass when there was a 5th Sunday in the month.

St. Munchin Parish Established 1867

On 22 October 1866, a tract of land consisting of lots 7 and 9, Block 49, was purchased from John L. Lathrop and others for a church. The two lots cost $50. Later lot 11 would be acquired from Edman D. and Anna D. Stokes on 2 May 1884 for $500. This is the site of the church and parish house. It is said that this land was purchased from the Railroad. However, unless these people were agents for the Railroad or agents for the Church, it appears that the lots were bought from private individuals. If these prices are indicative there was an enormous growth in the value of land in the city of Cameron between 1866 and 1884. The parish was established in 1867, with the building of the church, and the assignment of a permanent pastor.

The church placed on the lot was constructed in Chillicothe and shipped to         

Cameron by rail. It cost about $2000. The church was 40'x20'. It was erected so that it faced 3 rd Street, a dirt road at the time. A structure built on the front of the church extended high into the air. There was a cross on the top, which could be seen from some distance. On the west side of the church was a hitching post for the horses.

This is what Bishop John Hogan said regarding the church building at Cameron:

"At this time I pushed on the work of building a church at Cameron, the site of which I had acquired in October 1866, partly by donation and partly by purchase from the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company.

The building was commenced in the spring and completed early in the summer of 1868. Cameron had at this time became a place of some importance, by its recent connection with Kansas City by railroad." (On the Mission, 201.)

In the late 1950s when the foundation of the old church was removed it was found that wooden pegs had been used in its construction instead of mortar lime.

Fr. Thomas Ledwith came every two weeks from Liberty to celebrated Mass during 1868 and 1869 after Hogan was made Bishop of St. Joseph. When he came he stayed at the home of Albert T. Bauble.

The first resident priest, James Foley, arrived in the fall of 1870. He had charge of missions at Breckenridge and Kidder. On 19 June 1869, 10 acres of land were purchased from James and Elizabeth Cazier for $250. The site is about four miles from town and was to be used as a cemetery. In 1871 Fr. Thomas Walsh was assigned to the parish. In addition to the above missions he also went to Hamilton and Mirabile. In 1871 it was decided to enlarge and renovate the church. In 1873 a two-story frame parish house was built.

The renovation of the church and the priest's house cost about $1500. The CD indicates that there was no pastor during 1872. In 1873 Fr. J. R. Murphy came. The mission at Mirabile was given to Plattsburg, and he took on a mission at Osborn, about seven miles west of Cameron. In 1876 the mission at Hamilton was given to Carrollton.

In the 1890s the church organist was Goldie Clark Risley. Edna Burt Quigley and Hannah Eggleston were the vocalists.

In October 1893, a brick church was begun. The congregation had outgrown the frame church for the second time. Members of the Building Committee were: William Crawford, Alexander Montz, and Hugh Swords. The church cost $8000, and could seat 450, according to the 1915 history of Northwest Missouri. Contemporary estimates are that it seats 200. The steeple was topped by a large cross with gold finish. The windows were of cathedral glass in various colors. It was dedicated in 1894.

For the dedication, the Cathedral choir from Kansas City sang "Weber's Mass" in G. Kate Conway, Mrs. John Dolan and Ed. DeVemie, members of the choir, sang solos. Frank Scott and Kate Donnelly were also members. Will Crawford, James Kenney, Will Quigley and P.T. Rooney served as ushers.

On 24 June 1906 Knights of Columbus Council #1110 came into being. In 1940 the Council was revived, after a period of inactivity.

In 1907, the present red brick rectory was constructed to the east of the church. The new rectory was built on the basement of the former rectory. The old rectory was purchased by a Dr. Hamer, and moved to the Northwest corner of Third and Cherry Streets, where it stands today in use as an apartment building.

The new rectory was much bigger than the former rectory, and under the front part of it there is no basement. It is said that the reason for the new and larger house was the fact that when Fr. Richard Cullen came in 1899, he had family members living with him, and the rectory was too small.

At this time the altar in the church was remodeled. A large statue of the Sacred Heart was placed in the center of it. Statues of St. Patrick and St. Agnes were placed on each side at a lower level.

The first School Committee was formed during Fr. Cullen's time (1899-1924). The first members were: Pat Kenney, Pat Murphy and John Rice. The school, called St. Rita Academy in honor of one of Fr. Cullen's favorite saints, opened September 1924, in what had been the Midland Hotel. However, this building was soon sold, and the Cox residence on Fourth Street was purchased. Sisters of the Holy Ghost (now Holy Spirit), namely, Patrick Hughes, Teresa Martin and Canice, divided the 10 grades among them. There were two classrooms in the school, in which K-3 and 4-7 were taught. The principal taught grades 8 and 9 in a large room in the convent. The classes were full but not over crowded. The children were mostly from the rural community and most were of Irish descent. There were 60 students.

In the fall of 1925 a high school component was added to the school. In the spring of 1931 it was decided to drop the last two years of high school. The two-year high school continued until the spring of 1947.

During the pastorate of Fr. James Ryan (1926-1930) the Sisters of the Holy Ghost withdrew from the school for reasons which are no longer clear. The Sisters of St. Francis from Clinton, Iowa, came to teach. Fr. Ryan's sister was a member of the community.

In 1930 the Holy Name Society was founded with 97 members. It existed for nearly 50 years.

In 1939 it was reported that there were 400 Catholics in the parish. There were 67 students in the grade school and 18 in the high school. The diocesan census of 1959 found 234 children in the parish, 87 of whom were of grade school age and 32 of whom were high school or college age. There were 407 adult Catholics. In 1984 there were 630 Catholics reported in the parish living in 230 households.

On 18 February 1948, Lots 1 and 3, Block 50, were obtained for $3,000 from B.V. and Ana B. McQuinn. This is the site of the school building. At one time it served as the site of a Protestant church, perhaps Congregational. In 1949 St. Rita school building was constructed. The Sisters were given the rectory to live in and Fr. John McKeon moved to an apartment in Betsey O'Connell's home. Later a new home for the Sisters would be purchased on the southwest corner of Third and Pine Streets, directly across from the school. The school was closed in the spring of 1970. After the Sisters left, the home was sold during the pastorate of Fr. Thomas Whelan.

In 1954 a new organ was purchased for the church. This organ was replaced in 1979.

In the 1950s the parish became responsible for missions at Gallatin and Maysville. Later Gallatin would receive a resident priest, and Maysville would be its mission. This arrangement lasted until the early 1970s when Gallatin became a mission of Hamilton and Maysville a mission of Cameron.

In the 1960s the church was renovated, and the exterior brick cleaned. Fred Roth, a metal sculptor designed made some of the new furnishings: candlesticks and a wrought iron table to hold the tabernacle. These things are no longer in the church. The school and convent were also renovated. The Lawhon Construction Company did much of the work.

In the late winter of 1972 the stained glass windows were repaired by Hopcroft Art and Stained Glass Company for $1395. It was stated in an article in The Catholic Key , 26 November 1975, that in 1967 Joseph Rule had obtained for the church an unusual statue, that of St. Munchin, from St. Mary Cathedral in Limerick, Ireland. The statue is about 14" tall and the saint is dressed in green Episcopal robes, bearing a close likeness to St. Patrick to the eye of the uninformed.

On 28 October 1979 John T. Riead was ordained a Permanent Deacon.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s much effort was expended in renovating and updating the physical plant.

In the fall of 1987 it was announce that the State of Missouri was going to build a prison in the community. The expectation was that at least some of the employees of the new prison would become embers of the parish, and the parish would be expected to provide services at the prison.

Pastors: John J. Hogan, 1857; Thomas Ledwith, 1868; James Foley, 1870; Thomas Walsh, 1871; Francis O'Reilly, 1872; J.R. Murphy, 1873; Thomas Denney, 1876; James O'Reilly, 1887; Richard J. Cullen, 1899; James S. Ryan, 1926; M.F. Wogan, 1930; John McKeon, 1942; Richard Saale, 1950 (administrator); Denis O'Duignan, 1950; William F. Gott, 1956; Leo A. Boyle, 1962; John Hix, 1964; William Von Arx, 1967; Francis E. McGlynn, 1970; Thomas P. Whelan, 1970; John Eldringhoff, 1976; R. William Caldwell, 1983; T. Patrick Tobin, 1988; Alvin L. Herber, C.P.P.S., 1995; Paul A. Turner, 2001-2012; Louis Farley, 2012-2017, Thomas Ludwig 2017-current.

Text reprinted with the permission of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph from This Far By Faith,Volume II, The Facts, published 1992, Rev. Michael Coleman (Copies of this history are still available for sale from the Diocese of KC-SJ for $50 if picked up; $55 if mailed).

Sources: Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate, Sister Ann Finnerty, SHSp.; Diocesan Archives; Year Book and Reference Manual : A Practical Guide for Catholics , 1900-1901 (published by the parish); Mary Dritch and others. The History of St. Munchin's Mission and Parish, 1967; John J. Hogan, On the Mission in Missouri, Kansas City. John A Heilmann Publishing Company, 1892; Walter Williams, editor. History of Northwest Missouri , Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company, 1915