St. Mary's Church and Pharmacy | |
![]() Side and rear of the church | |
Location | North Avenue, Stevensville, Montana |
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Coordinates | 46°30′29″N114°5′43″W / 46.50806°N 114.09528°W |
Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
Built | 1866 |
NRHP reference No. | 70000364 [1] |
Added to NRHP | October 6, 1970 |
The Historic St. Mary's Mission is a mission established by the Society of Jesus of the Catholic Church, located now on Fourth Street in modern-day Stevensville, Montana. Founded in 1841 and designed as an ongoing village for Catholic Salish Indians, St. Mary's was the first permanent settlement made by non-indigenous peoples in what became the state of Montana. The mission structure was rebuilt in 1866. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. [2]
The Salish came to know about the Jesuits from Catholic Iroquois fur trappers who settled among them either in 1811, [3] : 22 or sometime after 1816. [4] : 212 Especially Ignace (Big Ignace) aroused attention with his stories about the "Black Robes". Indian delegations reached St. Louis in 1831 and 1835, both in vain, asking for a priest to follow them back to the Salish country.
Lakotas near Ash Hollow (Nebraska) killed a third group sent to make the same request in 1837, including Ignace. [4] : 213 In 1839, two Iroquois Indians met Father De Smet at Council Bluff, by chance, and they relayed the request again. In July 1840, Father De Smet was greeted by more than 1,000 Salish and Pend d'Oreille Indians in Pierre's Hole. [5] : 19–20 He promised to fulfill the request within a year.
On September 24 the next year, Father De Smet returned to the Salish. [5] : 21 Accompanying him to the Bitterroot Valley were Fathers Gregory Mengarini and Nicholas Point, as well as Brothers Joseph Specht, William Claessens, and Charles Huett. [5] : 21
Brother Claessens was a carpenter and led the building of the church. [5] : 30 As construction began under the supervision of Pierre-Jean De Smet, he described St. Mary's and the Salish workforce as follows:
The women hewed down the timber, assisted by their husbands, with the greatest alacrity and expedition, and in a few weeks we had constructed a log church, capable of holding 900 persons. To ornament the interior, the women placed mats of a species long grass, which were hung on the roof and sides of the church, and spread over the floor,-- it was then adorned with festoons formed of branches of cedar and pine. [6]
Nicolas Point's plan included houses with lawns. They were built in harmony with that plan although it made the village open to attacks. [3] : 114 A palisade shielded the church. [5] : 22 The first communion was at Easter 1842. [3] : 103 At this time, Chief Victor held the position as principal representative for the Bitterroot Salish. [5] : 23
Father Anthony Ravalli joined the mission in 1845. He inoculated the Indians against smallpox and ran the dispensary. [5] : 25
In 1846, the fields yielded 7,000 bushels of wheat and a considerable quantum of garden crops. [5] : 25 However, by this time many Salish Indians had turned their backs to the mission and slowly, took up their former lifestyle. They felt betrayed by the establishment of a mission at Colville for the Blackfeet, who were their enemies. [3] : 98 [5] : 26
Raids by those Blackfeet Indians closed the mission in 1850. [5] : 26 The abandoned church was burned to the ground, following the usual practice in such raids. [5] : 26 The Jesuits then sold the village to Trader John Owen for 250 dollars, even though it had been built on Salish land. [5] : 26
After sixteen years, St. Mary's mission started afresh in 1866. It was relocated a mile south of the first colony. [5] : 28 The Catholic Salish attended sermons in the new church and later, settlers in the area would come as well. [5] : 31 The church was enlarged in 1879. [5] : 31
In October 1891, Chief Charlo and the Bitterroot Salish were forced to move to the Jocko Reservation. [7] That was the end of St. Mary's as an Indian mission. [5] : 35 In 1921, the church became St. Mary's Parish. In 1953, work began on a new chapel, and with its dedication in 1954, the historic St. Mary's chapel was retired. It underwent restorations in the 1970s and 80s, and the Jesuits' kitchen was reconstructed. In 1996, a visitor center and museum were added. The St. Mary's Mission Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. [5] : 38
The mission complex is open for tours from April through October. The buildings include the chapel with an attached residence, the infirmary, a dovecote, a cabin with Salish artifacts, and a visitor's center that contains a museum, a research library, an art gallery, and a gift shop.
Ravalli County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,174. Its county seat is Hamilton.
Stevensville is a town in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,002 at the 2020 census.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are a federally recognized tribe in the U.S. state of Montana. The government includes members of several Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles tribes and is centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
The Bitterroot Salish are a Salish-speaking group of Native Americans, and one of three tribes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation in Montana. The Flathead Reservation is home to the Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles tribes also. Bitterroot Salish or Flathead originally lived in an area west of Billings, Montana extending to the continental divide in the west and south of Great Falls, Montana extending to the Montana-Wyoming border. From there they later moved west into the Bitterroot Valley. By request, a Catholic mission was built here in 1841. In 1891 they were forcibly moved to the Flathead Reservation.
The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana, along the Bitterroot River between the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains, in the Northwestern United States.
The Diocese of Helena is the Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western Montana in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon.
Charlo was head chief of the Bitterroot Salish from 1870 to 1910. Charlo followed a policy of peace with the American settlers in Southwestern Montana and with the soldiers at nearby Fort Missoula.
The Treaty of Hellgate was a treaty agreement between the United States and the Bitterroot Salish, Upper Pend d'Oreille, and Lower Kutenai tribes. The treaty was signed at Hellgate on 16 July 1855. Signatories included Isaac Stevens, superintendent of Indian affairs and governor of Washington Territory; Victor, chief of the Bitterroot Salish; Alexander, chief of the Pend d'Oreilles; Michelle, chief of the Kutenais; and several subchiefs. The treaty was ratified by Congress, signed by President James Buchanan, and proclaimed on 18 April 1859. It established the Flathead Indian Reservation.
The St. Ignatius Mission is a landmark Catholic mission located in St. Ignatius, Montana. It was founded in 1854 by Jesuit priests Pierre-Jean De Smet and Adrian Hoecken. The current mission church was built between 1891 and 1893, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Antonio or Anthony Ravalli was an Italian Jesuit missionary, artist, and doctor active in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. He is known primarily for his contributions to the architecture and art of Jesuit missions in the region. He also inoculated the tribes he served against smallpox, and his efforts shielded the Bitterroot Salish against epidemics that devastated other tribes. In 1893 Ravalli County, Montana was named after him.
The St. Ignace Mission is located in a municipal park known as Marquette Mission Park. It was the site of a mission established by Jesuit priest, Father Jacques Marquette, and the site of his grave in 1677. A second mission was established at a different site in 1837, and the chapel was moved here in 1954. The second mission chapel is the oldest Catholic church in Michigan and Wisconsin. The St. Ignace Mission was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1956, and was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmarks in 1960, one of the earliest sites recognized. The mission chapel serves as the Museum of Ojibwa Culture.
Gregorio or Gregory Mengarini was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary and linguist. He worked as a pioneer missionary in the northwest of the United States to the Flathead Nation, and became the philologist of their languages.
Jesuit missions in North America were attempted in the late 16th century, established early in the 17th century, faltered at the beginning of the 18th, disappeared during the suppression of the Society of Jesus around 1763, and returned around 1830 after the restoration of the Society. The missions were established as part of the colonial drive of France and Spain during the period, the "saving of souls" being an accompaniment of the constitution of Nouvelle-France and early New Spain. The efforts of the Jesuits in North America were paralleled by their China missions on the other side of the world, and in South America. They left written documentation of their efforts, in the form of The Jesuit Relations.
Pierre-Jean De Smet, SJ, also known as Pieter-Jan De Smet, was a Flemish Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He is known primarily for his widespread missionary work in the mid-19th century among the Native American peoples, in the midwestern and northwestern United States and western Canada.
Old St. Ferdinand Shrine and Historic Site is located at no. 1 rue St. Francois, Florissant, Missouri, and is owned, preserved, maintained, and protected by the non-profit organization, Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, Inc. The Shrine and Historic Site consists of four historic buildings on their original locations: the 1819 convent, 1821 church, 1840 rectory, and 1888 schoolhouse.
The Swan Valley Massacre was an incident in 1908 in which four Pend d'Oreilles Indians, members of an eight-person hunting party, were killed by a state game warden and his deputy in the Swan Valley in northwestern Montana. The state of Montana did not honor off-reservation hunting permits, although the hunting right was established by federal treaty. The game warden confronted the Pend d'Oreilles party and a gunfight ensued.
The St. Peter's Mission Church and Cemetery, also known as St. Peter's Mission and as St. Peter's-By-the-Rock is a historic Roman Catholic mission located on Mission Road 10.5 miles (16.9 km) west-northwest of the town of Cascade, Montana, United States. The historic site consists of a wooden church and "opera house" and a cemetery. Also on the site are the ruins of a stone parochial school for boys, a stone convent, and several outbuildings.
Fort Owen State Park is a historic preservation area owned by the state of Montana in the United States, located on the northern outskirts of the town of Stevensville, Montana. The park is named for Fort Owen, a mission and later trading post established in 1841 and named for trader John Owen. The park is one acre (0.40 ha) in size, 3,293 feet (1,004 m) in elevation, and is owned and managed by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Fort Owen is known as the "cradle of Montana civilization".
Adrianus Hoecken, SJ was a Jesuit missionary of Dutch origin who worked among different Native American tribes in the United States. He was a younger brother of fellow Jesuit Christian Hoecken and one of the first travel companions of fellow Jesuit Pierre-Jean De Smet.
Nicholas Point;, was a French Catholic priest, artist, and member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He is known primarily for the drawings and watercolors he created during his missionary work in the mid-19th century among the Native American peoples in the northwestern United States.