History of Beaverville, Iroquois County, IL

Beaverville Township

St. Mary Catholic Church

The village of Beaverville, known as St. Mary until 1905, is the home of St. Mary's Catholic Church. Services were held in homes of the parishioners, or, occasionally in the village, prior to 1857. A priest came from L'Erable to offer the Holy Sacrifice when the church was fist built. Ste. Marie (St. Mary) was mission of L'Erable.

The Rev. Epiphanie Lapointe came from Canada in 1857 as the first resident priest. Because the parish resources were limited, her returned to Canada in 1858 to solicit funds. In 1859 a rectory and entrance to the church was built and the church enclosed with a fence.

Twenty acres of land were donated by Charles Aseneau. St. Marie belonged to the Chicago Diocese. In 1949 the Joliet Diocese was formed and St. Mary's came under its jurisdiction.

There are no baptisms recorded earlier than 1859, prior to this all records of baptisms, marriages and burials were kept in L'Erable. Amos, child of Marcel Fortin and Philomine Francoeur was the first baptized, November 16, 1859, and Pierre Deslaurier and Marguerite Giroux were the first married on January 15, 1860.

The terms of the pastorate were very short in the early years. From the founding of the parish until 1882, eleven pastors succeeded one another.

The parish records of 1877 lists 163 families. In October the new Bishop John Lancaster of Peoria came to Ste. Marie to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation.

In 1882 the Rev. Louis George Langlais, C.S.V. of the Providence of Quebec, was sent by Clerics of Saint Viator to assume the pastorate of St. Marie of St. Mary, Illinois. The present rectory was built under his direction.

In 1889 oil-painted Stations of the Cross were donated by fourteen parishioner.

In August, 1895, six nuns, Sister Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary came from Paris, France, to assume the direction of the parish school which had neared completion. The new bell for the church was blessed and the old bell given to the Sisters for the Convent. Growth in enrollment of Holy Family Academy students by September 12, 1895, showed a class of seventy-five students confirmed.

On August 29, 1909, the cornerstone for the present church was laid by Rt. Rev. A.J. McGavick, D.D. The architect was Joseph Molitar. The church interior is of Corinthian design. With a seating capacity of 600, the dome is 75 feet in diameter. The Ionic exterior is built of Bedford stone and the roof of French red tile. The windows were the first of their kind made in the United States. The Andrew Carnegie Foundation donated $1,250 toward the pipe organ, which is still in use today.

Laying Cornerstone of St. Mary's Church, Beaverville, 1909

This magnificent stone church stands today as the most beautiful church in the area; the interior is both inspiration and prayerful. The church is affectionately known by some as the "Cathedral in the Cornfield."

Rev. John Lane, C.S.V. was pastor from 1978 to August, 1984. Upon his retirement St. Mary's was left without a resident pastor for the first time in 127 years, due to the shortage of priests.

The Rev. Daniel Reardon, C.S.V., pastor of St. Martin's, Martinton, and St. John the Baptist, L'ERable, added the pastorate of St. Mary's, Beaverville to his schedule in August 1984.

(from Iroquois County History 1985 page 54, transcribed by Carrol Mick)

For more info visit the St. Mary's Church web page at: http://www.keynet.net/~stmarys/page4.html

These pics (post cards) are of the Holy Family Academy in Beaverville. It was still active in the 1940s, not sure how much later. All structures were demolished several years ago.

Here are some pics taken at the Frigon School. It was located NE of Beaverville. Pics were taken in the early 1940s. My Mother, Iola Bovie was the teacher at the one room school house at the time. I was one of the students. Second from left in front row of pic #2.

These pics (post cards) are of the Holy Family Academy in Beaverville. It was still active in the 1940s, not sure how much later. All structures were demolished several years ago.




Here are some pics taken at the Frigon School. It was located NE of Beaverville. Pics were taken in the early 1940s. My Mother, Iola Bovie was the teacher at the one room school house at the time. I was one of the students. Second from left in front row of pic #2.

St. Mary Catholic Church

Pictures of Beaverville(Contributed by Bob Bovie at Bobbovie@aol.com)