St. Patrick’s and the first St. Mary’s Academy

Upon assuming charge of this parish, Father Cassidy at once set about to increase the seating capacity of the church by adding ten new pews and thereby enlarging it to a seating capacity of five hundred. The church being without a tower or other receptacle for a bell, he began the plans and had erected, in the fall of 1886, in the center of the front of the church, a substantial tower, twelve feet by twelve feet at the base and ninety feet in height to the top of the large gilded cross by which it was surmounted. This addition gave the church a decidedly handsome and improved appearance, in conjunction with the utilitarian purposes it was intended to serve. A bell was then purchased and placed in this tower. The new bell, with iron frame in which it is set weighs four-thousand pounds.

St. Patrick's Church, on November 9, 1886, was regularly incorporated under the laws of the State of Nebraska at Omaha with Rt. Rev. Bishop James O'Connor, president; Rev. Michael F. Cassidy, pastor and treasurer; Patrick Hagerty, secretary, and John McBride and Very Rev. R. Shaffel, the vicar-general of the diocese, incorporators.

The name of the parish was now St. Patrick's instead of St. Joseph's. It seems to be at this time that Father Cassidy changed the name to have an Irish Saint for his beloved flock and the local newspaper at that time, too, changed the little weekly ad which ran: "St. Joseph Catholic

Church. Services every Sabbath at 10:30 o'clock. Rev. Cassidy, Pastor. Sabbath school immediately following services." The church advertisement just switched the name Patrick in place of Joseph and the rest stayed the same. But the bell in the church tower is proof that the name was changed then because upon the bell is engraved:

St. Patrick's Church, O'Neill, Nebraska, 1886. This engraving appears under an engraved cross. (As you look at the church today, as you face the north, this engraving appears to the left or west side. On the east or right side is engraved: McShane Bell Foundry, Henry McShane and Company, Baltimore, Md. 1886.) Article two of the articles of incorporation limited the indebtedness of the corporation to ten thousand dollars, and the cost of the new tower amounted to eleven hundred and twenty five dollars, and the new bell was five-hundred and ninety four dollars. The bell tolled for the first time for early Mass of Christmas, 1886.

In the summer of 1887, Bishop O'Connor again visited the parish, and administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 172 people and it was his first visit to church number two. The following year the Jesuit Fathers held a very successful mission of eight days in the month of September.

The parish kept growing and had reached its greatest membership of two hundred families. Father Cassidy decided that a Catholic Fair should be held in the fall of the year and this event was to be a social as well as a financial endeavor. It lasted for four days in the latter part of October. The two immense rooms were crowded almost continually and the people seemed to enjoy themselves perfectly. Eatables were served at noon and at night by the ladies of the church and hundreds took their meals there every day. Father Cassidy, who managed the entire affair, certainly deserves much of the credit due the Society for the success of the entertainment, and some the prizes and their winners were: Nina Ryan - an album; Peter Eberly - a wisp broom; T. D. Hanley -a gold cross; Mrs. Hammond - stockings; Mrs. Biglin - dress and hood; Mr. O'Neill - mittens; H. E. Murphy - writing desk; E. J. Mack -sewing machine; M. A. Hurley -a toilet seat; J. P. Mann -cushion; M. C. Roberts -a hood; M. Mullen - a quilt; Mrs. N. Brennan - a pig; Mrs. 0. Toohill - a cushion; Mrs. J. McBride - a sofa pillow; W. J. Canton - shaving set; Hugh Gallagher - a cake; Nellie Cronin - a banner, S. H. Ellwood - a chair; Druze Beck - a silver cake stand; E. F. Gallagher - a painting; Dave Darr – a steer; Mrs. Dr. Connolly - a toilet set; P. C. Corrigan - a silk quilt; F. Getz - a rug; George Wilder - a table scarf; Mrs. Toohill - a shawl; Miss Toomey - a town lot; John Jerndt - a cow; Thomas Campbell - fifty dollars; Mrs. M. M. Sullivan - a picture. The net proceeds of the fair equaled $1,691.91. Father Cassidy put this card of thanks in the newspaper: In behalf of myself and the congregation of which I am pastor, I desire to tender my most heartfelt thanks to the kind people generally, of this and a few outside communities, for the very liberal and munificent manner in which you extended your helpful assistance and kindly patronage toward the fair recently held in this city under the very laudable auspices of the Catholics of this parish. I assure you, my dear friends, that I am most happy to announce that success attended the enterprise, both from a social and financial standpoint far beyond my most sanguine hopes and expectations. And I hope and trust and pray that God in his kind providence will some day in the near future reward you a thousand fold by bestowing in abundance upon you and yours peace, happiness, and prosperity, for valuable and welcome evidence of your kindly friendship and generosity.

Mr. David Fitzgerald, of Lincoln, Nebraska, donated to St. Patrick's Church in O'Neill, two beautiful statues, one of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the other of Saint Joseph, in the summer of 1888.

The parochial rectory, then in use, proving inadequate for the decent accommodation of the pastor and assistant, and the numerous visiting clergy, it was decided to remove and to sell it and replace it with one which would comply more fully with the importance and dignity of the parish and adequately meet the accommodations and requirements of a modern residence. In the summer of 1888, the old residence was removed, and later in 1890 was sold for nine hundred dollars (and lived in by Mrs. Dykeman), and a new residence, a frame building, forty-five feet by fifty four feet, two stories high with a stone basement, porch, and attic, was erected on the site formerly occupied by the old one, at a cost of thirty-five hundred dollars.

On Christmas morning, 1889, there was high Mass at six o'clock plus five other Masses that day. At the high Mass, Father Delbove was celebrant and preached an eloquent sermon, for which he was noted. The three altars were beautifully decorated with flowers and plants. The Main Street O'Neil, Church Steeple in background, telt ol tower, across the street from public school

Photo caption: The rectory, St. Joseph's (St. Patrick's) Church and the O'Neill School

Star of Bethlehem above the main altar, with the hundreds of lighted candles on the altar and on either side of the tabernacle up to the large star above the pinnacle, was truly grand and as beautiful a sight as one could wish to see. In the evening vespers and benediction and the lighting of the Star of Bethlehem closed the Christmas exercises.

About this time also, a strong and universal feeling existed throughout the parish, that the time had come and the exigencies and necessities of the situation demanded the establishment, at O'Neill, of an Academy for young ladies, wherein should be taught the higher branches of leaning, music, and the arts, the same to be placed in charge of and conducted by one of the more popular orders of instructors to be found among the sisterhood of the church.

Palm Sunday was observed, in the spring of 1890, with genuine palm, brought all the way from New York City.

It was the first ever in O'Neill. Easter Sunday could not have possibly been finer for the time of year; nature vied with the artificial to make the day a joyous one and in memory of the risen Savior everything rejoiced. There was the early Mass but the high Mass was at ten o'clock and the altar and church were beautifully decorated and the services were very impressive. In the evening vespers and a sermon were held.

Following Easter, subscription books, for the purpose of raising funds, were opened to the public and voluntary contributions were solicited for the purpose of building a Catholic Academy. These were met with a generous and prompt response by the people, fully assuring the success of the project. Plans were taking form to build this Sister's school on the lots just west of the church and rectory. It must be remembered that when the parish was incorporated in 1886, Bishop James O'Connor once again gave the warranty deed back to Father Cassidy and this included lots,1, 2, 3, 4,11,12,13,14,15, and 16 in Block 4. Lots 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 in Block 4 were also originally owned by Patrick Fahy but in 1879, Mr. Fahy sold these to John Fitzgerald. John Fitzgerald in turn sold Lot 9 to Charles N. Sholes in 1884, who in turn sold Lot 9 to 8.

Mullen. John Fitzgerald donated his lots in Block 4 to Saint Patrick's Church in O'Neill (O'Neill before this was known as O'Neill City) on August 18, 1888, and B. Mullen sold his to St. Patrick's Church for one-hundred-and-fifty dollars on May 14, 1887.

The plans for the school really began to take form.

Toward the middle of May, 1890, a certain Mr. McLean visited Father Cassidy. He offered a cash donation of $2,500.00 and freight gratis on all material used in its construction. He also guaranteed that all the material should be purchased at Sioux City prices and all of this will no doubt was to bring Mr. McLean's donation up to $4,000.00, possibly $5,000.00. A meeting on May 29, 1890, showed that the people of O'Neill pledged nearly $5,000.00, making the total close to $10,000.00. Meetings and conferences were held from time to time to devise ways and means until June 19, 1980, when the plans were released and a contract was entered into for the erection of the brick building. Many went to Architect Dyers' office to see the plans. The plans were elaborate and when the building was to be completed the cost was to be at least $22,000.00. It was to be seventy-five feet on the front (south) and forty-five wide (east) with an addition in the back thirty one feet by forty-nine feet. But this back part was not to be built right away but in time was expected as an addition. It was to contain four floors (basement, two full stories, and an attic). It was to be equipped with all modern appliances, and heated by steam.

It was to be built on the western half of Block Four and was to be known as Saint Mary's Academy. But the plans were to build the best possible. The basement was divided into kitchen, laundry, and dining rooms. On the first floor was a music room and reception room in the southwest corner, a parlor in the southeast comer, two school rooms, hall, and cloak room. The entrance and vestibule measured nine feet by thirteen feet. The second floor had two sisters' rooms in front, chapel room on the east and a class room on the west, with a hall and cloak room as the floor below. The third floor is divided into dormitories, bathroom and hall. A tower measuring twelve feet by sixteen feet will run up in front over the vestibule. The large spacious hall and stairway, the elegant rooms for its various departments were to combine and thus make it one of the finest buildings in this part of the state. The style of the building was Romanesque, the corners were rounded, with a foundation of stone and the main building was to be of brick with stone trimmings.

To the people of O'Neill it was the Sisters' College but to Father Cassidy, it was to be Saint Mary's Academy. Excavation began in June of 1890, and Contractor Burns worked quickly. It only required half a dozen men and three teams of horses to get the job done. Mr. Burns donated his work to the church and was certainly deserving of much credit or as the local newspaper stated it considering the fact that he has not a dollar's worth of property in the town for his liberality.

The cornerstone for the new school was laid on September 13, 1890. It was a big day for O'Neill, and there was a large crowd to witness the ceremony. At two-thirty in the afternoon, the O'Neill Cornet Band marched to the church and rendered a few selections prepared especially for the occasion, in a very commendable manner. At three o'clock, the procession which formed in front of the church was composed of the O'Neill Cornet Band, the Sunday School children, the Young Ladies Sodality, the Catholic Knights of America, and the priests. The procession marched to the academy and upon the first floor, which was laid, and on which stood the speaker, Father Joseph F. Nugent of Des Moines, Iowa. On the platform with the speaker were Father John Jeannette of Omaha (who officiated as celebrant owing to the recent death of Bishop O'Connor and the Episcopal See of Omaha still being vacant), Father Kolin of Atkinson, and Fathers Cassidy and Hoheisl of O'Neill. Father Nugent delighted and entertained the audience for forty-five minutes in which he made the dedicating speech. He spoke upon the usefulness and the benefits to be derived from Catholic schools and the audience stood wrapped in attention as the words of logic and wisdom fell from his hips. As an orator Father Nugeht had few, if any, equals and everyone in that vast audience listened with interest to every word that was spoken. After his talk came the ceremony of laying the corner stone. In the stone was placed a tin box which contained papers on which were written the names of Pope Leo XIII, the late Bishop O'Connor, President Benjamin Harrison and Vice President Levi P. Morton, Mayor John McBride of O'Neill, the names of building committee, the largest donators, a copy of each of the city papers, including a copy of the largest donators, a"b ocoompy" o efd eiaticohn o of ft hTeH Eci tFyR pOapNeTrsI,E iRnc alnudd ianlgso a c cooinpsy ooff tthhee current year. After the ceremonies of laying the corner stone were over the band played a few selections and the audience dispersed. That evening, Father Nugent gave a lecture in the church on the subject of "The Lost Confessional," which he handled in a very able manner and was listened to by a large audience. After the lecture a collection was taken up and together with the one taken in the afternoon amounted to one-hundred-and-fifty dollars, which was given to the academy.

Work was pushed along rapidly. Father Cassidy did take a mortgage on the property for two-thousand dollars with the Fidelity Loan and Trust Company of Sioux City on Lots 13 & 14 and this was paid back by November 23, 1889. A Mechanic's Lien was filed by Richard Smith to lots 9, 10, and 11 and this was paid by December 6, 1890. Then the building was completed in early February of 1891. It had a slate roof and was very steep. The tower in front was higher than the rest of the building and was seventy feet above the ground and was surmounted with a large bronze cross of very fine pattern. There were three large chimneys one each on the north, east, and west, besides the several smaller ones. The material used in the structure was principally brick with stone sills, caps, and steps. Its foundation was secure and the building in every respect was solid and substantial, a creditable monument to the enterprise and liberality of the people and lasting credit to the city. The total cost of the building without the addition was not less than twenty-thousand dollars and when the addition which was in the planning stage was to be added and the whole unit would be near thirty-thousand dollars. The school was not expected to open until September,1891 because all the good teachers were already engaged in teaching for the year and it was the intention of the parish board to start with good teachers only. The Sisters of Charity had been contacted and had agreed to come and run the school. Father Cassidy had already received inquires from points east and west concerning the school and hopes were high that the school was going to be a success.

The burning of the First St. Mary's Academy

But then on February 19, 1891, at high noon, when the school was almost completed, the fire alarm was sounded, and the terrible fact was that Saint Mary's Academy, the pride of the town, was in flames. Crowds of men and women rushed to the scene but it was too late to save the building and nothing could be done except to watch it burn and to prevent the other buildings around it from catching fire which was done in an heroic manner. The wind was favorable, being from the south, and as soon as the roof fell and the northeast corner burned out, the danger to other buildings was over. It was a sickening and painful sight to see that grand structure going up in smoke and there were many sad hearts in the town because of the fire. The origin of the fire was a mystery and probably will always remain one. The workmen stated that there had been no fire in any room of the building all day except in the southwest attic room and that was out by eleven o'clock; that they left the building at five minutes of twelve going from the upper floor down to the basement to get out and there was no fire visible then. The men went down to the New Ogden to dinner and had just gone in to the table when they heard the cry of fire. The noon bell had scarcely ceased ringing when it was started up as the fire alarm and the smoke was seen issuing from the windows in the first and second stories on the northeast side and out of the roof at noon or very soon thereafter. It started up and got under very strong headway in an almost incredibly short space of time and the whole building was burned in about ninety minutes. The loss was estimated from ten to twelve-thousand dollars and the building was insured for ten-thousand dollars in the name of the church. The contractors had no insurance. The walls and high chimneys, and even the cupola frame were left standing and it was thought that the greater part of the walls were still as good as new. The northeast and northwest corners were cracked and the window sills and caps, made of red sandstone, seemed to be burned and some of them being totally ruined.

It was almost certain that the damage was to be repaired and that the building was to be in shape for the fall school term. Mr. McVey was reported as saying that the loss falls upon them, and that they will expect to make it good. Mr. Meals, the other member of the firm, telegraphed to Frank Campbell to know if his interests were protected. He was to be up that evening to meet with the contractors and the building committee to get the situation properly adjusted.

Also a meeting was called by the city of O'Neill at the court house for the purpose of inaugurating a scheme whereby the town would secure a system of water works for protection from fire, but the attendance was light and nothing was really accomplished except that a seed was sown for water works in the future.

Father Cassidy felt that the fire originated in the basement through the carelessness of the workmen. At the time of this appalling disaster, fourteen thousand dollars had been expended on the building and its heating plant.

Father Cassidy then was informed by the insurance company which had insured the academy refused to pay for the fire damages on the grounds that the building did not belong to the parish. The insurance policy was made out in the name of the church, but the academy had not been formally turned over to the church by the contractors, hence the grounds for the claim. There still seemed to be no question as to the rebuilding of the academy as the contractors stated that they were the losers by the fire and even if the insurance could not be collected, they would have to replace the building. Still suit was instituted in the District Court of Holt County against the contractors and their bondsmen to recover the amount paid on the contract, and a judgment for fourteen thousand. dollars and costs obtained. The case was appealed by the bondsmen to the Nebraska Supreme Court which reversed the judgment of the District Court. The suit was then dropped. But Father Cassidy was faced with bills and Mechanic's Liens by Frank B. Kennard Glass and Paint Company. Galena Lumber Company (a partnership of Edward F. Gallagher and Thomas F. Birmingham), the Omaha Planning Mill Company, \Teweu and Lamphear, A. C. Raymer, and these liens amounted to three-thousand-and-thirty-four dollars and fifty eight cents. But Father Cassidy managed to get through all of this because on February 2, 1891, he went to Omaha and mortgaged the whole property for ten-thousand dollars, and the mortgage was held by Felix. J. Despecher.

All of this, the calamity, the mortgage, shattered for the time being, the fondest aspirations and most cherished ambitions of the parish, but, severe as the shock was, it did not entirely annihilate the hopes and determination of the people to replace the beautiful structure that had been the pride of their hearts for a day.

Along in the winter of 1890, a nice frame church, twenty two feet by thirty-six feet, was erected at Stafford, on the eastern side of the parish, at the cost of one thousand dollars. The ground for this site was donated by Daniel O'Donnell who was from Stafford. This church was served from O'Neill and mass was celebrated there once a month.

On June 28, 1891, Bishop Scannell visited St. Patrick's in O'Neill for the first time since assuming the episcopacy of the diocese of Omaha and confirmed a class of one hundred and seventy two persons. It was this year, also, that that part of Boyd County lying between Lynch on the east, and Butte on the west, was attached to O'Neill as a mission, and Mass was celebrated for the first time in Spencer that year and on January 1, 1982, Father Havelberg was appointed as resident pastor of the Boyd County Mission. He established his residence at Spencer, and was there until October, 1894, when he was transferred. The mission was again returned to O'Neill. A frame church was built in Spencer, part in 1892 and part in 1896, and it was eighteen feet by fifty-six feet, and at a cost of five hundred dollars.

Mass was celebrated there once a month.