LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - MAY 10, 2020 by Lynne Belluscio Most people are aware that St. Francis Cemetery is on Exchange Street, but some people don’t realize that there was also a St. Francis Church. It was the first Catholic Church in LeRoy and it was on Pleasant Street, but no one was sure where it was. We knew that Irish Catholics had settled in LeRoy and in 1849 had celebrated the first Mass at a building on West Main Street known as the “Round House.” The building had been built as a Masonic Temple but was never used by the Masons, and had become a private school. In fact, it is believed that Jacob LeRoy’s oldest sons had attended school at the Round House. In 1849, a priest from Batavia came to LeRoy and celebrated Mass at the Round House and soon it was decided to build a small wooden church on Pleasant Street. It was used until St. Peter’s Church opened on Lake Street. But there was little information beyond that, so I started to look in the files. I also went to the website for Our Lady of Mercy and found some excellent information. “One hundred fifty years ago, on April 3, 1849, a hardy band of Irish immigrants greeted Father Edward Dillon as he arrived by horse from Batavia, New York, to say mass for the first time in LeRoy. The mass was said from a public building then known as the Round House, later to be the site of the Masonic building on West Main Street, which still stands today. At the close of the mass Father Dillon told his congregation that he would come to LeRoy one Sunday a month, whereupon Dennis F. Butler gladly offered the use of his home on Pleasant Street for the monthly service. In July of 1849, Bishop John Timon, C.M., came to LeRoy to encourage the efforts of the small congregation. In September, Father Dillon purchased a lot on Pleasant Street from William Sherman. A small wooden church was built and became known as Saint Francis Church. The first High Mass in the new church was said on Christmas Eve. “There was some additional information on the website. By 1852, the little wooden church was too small so Father O’Farrell began to collect money for an enlargement which was called the “T” addition and it was completed and occupied on January 14, 1854. A Catholic school was started and held in the basement in 1857 and Mary Ann O’Donoghue was the first teacher. By 1858, the congregation had grown so large that there were plans to build a new church and a lot on Myrtle Street was purchased. Apparently, there was a building on the lot, because the school was moved from Pleasant Street to Myrtle Street, but as far as the story goes, the church was never moved, and another addition to the Pleasant Street building was made in 1867. In the meantime, Father Cunningham purchased eight acres of land on Exchange Street for a cemetery and the first burial was on July 16, 1863. Prior to this, Catholic burials were made at Saint Joseph’s Cemetery in Batavia. In 1869, Father Moore purchased a house and a lot on Brockport Street, (now Lake Street) and began making plans for a new church. The cornerstone was laid in September 1870, and on December 14, 1873, the new St. Peter’s Catholic Church was dedicated and the parish was no longer known as Saint Francis. According to the parish history: “In April 1877, the old church property on Pleasant Street was sold to Jake. T. Warren for $500. No trace of the original church can be found today as it was destroyed by fire in 1906.” My next clue was found on the 1866 Village of LeRoy map, and sure enough, on the east side of Pleasant Street is “Cath. Ch.” clearly marked. Finally, the last clue came from notes made by Alvin Stripp in 1985. He wrote that the church was sold and used as a factory and a machine shop. After the 1906 fire, the property was divided into four lots. The northwest piece on Pleasant Street was sold to Mr. Argana. The southwest piece on Pleasant Street was sold to “an Italian" who sold it to Mr. Antinore. The two lots on Mill Street were sold to Mr. DiFrancisco. As an interesting addition to this story, another church had its beginnings on Pleasant Street. It seems that when the Methodist Church congregation began its search for a place to build, they too began on Pleasant Street - - but that’s another research project. Looking for St. Francis