Early Years
In 1839 the first Catholic church in the Manchester area was built by German immigrants on Schneider Road in Freedom Township. It was a log cabin and was built in honor of Saint Francis de Borgia. All that remains is the cemetery, across from the site of the original church. The cemetery is located in an overgrown, wooded area at the corner of Schneider and Hieber Roads (between Pleasant Lake Road and Bethel Church Road). Only one tombstone remains standing.

In 1858 a brick church with white plaster facing was built on Bethel Church Road near Koebbe (one-half mile west of the Bethel Church/Schneider Road intersection). It was two miles south of the original log cabin church. A brick rectory was built next to the church in 1873 and stands beside the cemetery today. The cemetery is very well kept, and in 1978 Bishop Kenneth J. Povish dedicated a wayside shrine to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the establishment of the German Catholic community in that section of Washtenaw County. An iron cross, dedicated to Thecla Weiss by her husband Joseph, sits on top of the original cornerstone of the church.

In 1863 Father Edward Van Lauwe was appointed resident pastor of St. Dominic’s Church at Clinton. His mission field was comprised of Manchester, Milan, Freedom, Tecumseh, and Cambridge (Irish Hills). Until 1870, Mass was said in various homes. In 1870, during the pastorate of Father Ferdinand Allgayer, about thirty-five Irish families erected the first Catholic church in Manchester, near the corner of Wager (Catholic Lane) and Macomb Streets. It was dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This church was torn down soon after the new church was built, but the rectory now serves as the home of the pastor of the Baptist church now situated at that site, In 1874 Father Andrew Leitner became the first resident pastor of Freedom and assumed charge of Manchester. He was also responsible for St. Mary’s at Milan and St. Joseph’s at Cambridge. As time went on, Freedom gradually declined in importance and Father Peter Ternes, who began his pastorate in 1890, transferred his residence to Manchester.

Father Ternes celebrated Mass in Manchester the first and third Sundays of the month. In 1890 there were 65 Catholic families in Manchester, 20 in Freedom, 40 in Clinton, and 35 in Cambridge.

In 1906 Father Edwin A. Fisher was appointed pastor of Clinton and its missions. He traveled on horseback and earned the nickname “Onehorse Fisher.” In 1909 he became pastor of Manchester as well. The mission fields of both were combined. Fr. Fisher was very fond of building fieldstone churches. St. Elizabeth, Tecumseh; St. Agnes, Brooklyn; and St. Mary, Manchester were all built from the same basic plan.

Construction
In January 1911 St. Mary’s society purchased “the dutch tavern” (or Farmer’s Hotel) property at the northwest corner of the public square in the village (corner of Macomb and Madison Streets) from Dr. Charles Underkircher of Saline for $1,400. The building was torn down and stones were hauled to build the new church. On March 17, 1911, the church put on “the popular Irish drama, Kathleen Mavoureen” at Arbeiter Hall to help pay for the new church. The net receipts were $102. By the middle of March, nearly 1,000 loads of stone had been drawn from the fields by the local farmers. With what was taken from the foundation of the old hotel building, the committee concluded that there was nearly enough for the new structure, and work on the foundation was to begin shortly. However, quicksand was found at the site and Peter McCollum was hired to drive the piles. The following articles from the Manchester Enterprise document the progress in building the church:

May 11, 1911: There are about 15 men at work at the new Catholic church and they are making good progress.

May 18, 1911: Work at the new Catholic church appears to be progressing as rapidly as could be expected. The driving of piles in nearly completed, the work of building concrete walls immediately over the piles is being pushed as rapidly as possible. George Baily is driving a well. All the men seem to work in harmony and it is expected that the work will be sufficiently advanced by the 9th of June so the cornerstone may be laid by Bishop Kelly.

On Thursday, June 8, Father Fisher administered First Communion to 40 boys and girls from St. Mary’s and neighboring missions. Friday, June 9, Bishop Kelly of Ann Arbor, assisted by ten priests, confirmed “the largest class ever in this parish at one time.” There were 47 in the confirmation class. At 2 p.m. a procession was formed at the old church and proceeded to the site of the new church where Bishop Kelly laid the cornerstone. The cornerstone is a granite block in which was cut a cavity large enough to contain a copper box in which were placed copies of the Manchester Enterprise, Ann Arbor, and Detroit newspapers, a history of St. Mary’s church society, names of the present and past members, the pope, bishops, and priests, various coins, etc. The stone is inscribed:

 Ecclesia
 Sanctae Mariae
 1871-1911

On July 4 the masons took time out from working on the church to have a ball game with the railroad men. Nick Senger was the umpire and he held them to such strict rules that the players were not allowed to complain of even the heat! The score was 5 to 8 in favor of the masons.

Apparently a clock had been planned for the tower of the new church. The August 10 issue of the Manchester Enterprise reported that the Catholics had abandoned the project of securing money by subscriptions among the town people for a clock for the new church. So many were of the opinion that the money had better be spent paying for the church.

August 24, 1911: The masons are nearly through with the stonework on the new Catholic church.

September 7, 1911: The masons did not work on the church Tuesday on account of rain. They are about ready to put the tile roof on the new Catholic church.

September 14, 1911: The tower and roof of the new Catholic church begins to stick up above the tree tops.

October 12, 1911: The tower and roof of the new Catholic church are finished.

November 9, 1911: Work on the new Catholic church is progressing. The plasterers have begun operation, the windows are expected to arrive any day, the seating is here ready to be placed as soon as the plastering is finished. Rev. Fr. Fisher intends to dedicate the church on Thanksgiving Day if possible of which notice will be given in the Enterprise.

November 9, 1911: When the Hudson Catholics built a new church they installed a new and larger pipe organ. The one they discarded was presented to Fr. Fisher but it was found to be too large for this new church and Fr. Fisher has exchanged it for a smaller one of the same make which will be erected in the choir loft. Members of St. Mary’s congregation are working hard to have everything finished before the dedication.

November 16, 1911: The stained glass windows have been put in the new Catholic church and they are beauties.

November 30, 1911: Rev. Fr. Fisher hoped to have the new Catholic church completed so it could be dedicated on Thanksgiving Day but the time was too short. The workmen have done well to get it as far as it is.

December 7, 1911: The fair held by St. Mary’s society last week was a great financial success. Over $1,260 was cleared, besides they have a large amount of goods on hand which will be sold at private sale.

January 11, 1912: They are setting up the pipe organ in the new Catholic church today. Everything was moved out of the old St. Mary’s church Monday and placed in the new one.

January 11, 1912: The new Catholic church which has been under construction here during the past year is nearly finished and the Rev. Fr. Fisher has decided to have the dedication on Wednesday next, January 17. Bishop Kelly with a large number of the clergy will be here. The bishop will dedicate the building with their assistance. The church cost about $14,000 and will be free from debt.

January 18, 1912: Rev. Fr. Fisher held services in the new Catholic church Monday at which there was a good attendance.

Dedication and Detailed Description
On Wednesday, January 17, 1912, the new church was dedicated by Right Reverend Bishop Kelly. The Manchester Enterprise described the new church as follows: “The new Catholic church has indeed aroused the deepest interest both in our townspeople and visitors to our village, It is a decided improvement to this beautiful section of our town, and is well worthy of the interest it has been the object of. Not only is the building proper admirable in every respect, but its furnishings are most artistic and well calculated to inspire religious devotion in the worshipper. Over the main entrance, in a large Gothic niche, is a life size statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is very appropriate as the title of the church is St. Mary’s.

“The general lines of the church interior, as well as exterior, are Gothic in style, The stained glass windows, conforming to the Gothic style are fourteen in number, each containing a different emblem and inscription, and equipped with a revolving ventilator. Encircling the church, on brackets, are the figured and highly decorated representations of fourteen scenes of the journey of Christ to Mt. Calvary, known as the stations of the Cross. The altars, three in number, are finished in white and gold. On them and about them, appropriately arranged are represented in statuary: Christ, Saints Mary, Joseph, Anthony, a guardian angel and child, two adult angels, and four cherub or child angels.

“Each representation of itself is a work of art, and combined they produce a most harmonious effect. It may safely be stated that, its modest dimensions being considered, there are few edifices finer than St. Mary’s of Manchester, in southern Michigan.”

According to Claren Knauss, retired Manchester Township building inspector, the stone work was done by local stone masons who were very active at that period of time. The stones were hauled up the wall by a gin-pole assembly. This involved a horse pulling a rope over a pulley mounted on a pole, down to a wheelbarrow loaded with stone, thus raising the stone to the level of the stone mason’s work. He classifies the style of stone work as fieldstone cobble with random colors and shapes of stone. The mortar for the stone work was mixed on-site in a mortar box with a hoe. As each stone was laid, it formed a pocket for the next stone, in a somewhat random fashion. The church is a unique site and projects the use of fieldstone in a most uncommon way. While most stone work done by the local stone masons of the time would be of cut stone, or embossed work, St. Mary’s employs the use of fieldstone cobble, fieldstone used in a raw or uncut way. It is also used in such a way that the wall presents the maximum projection of the volume of stone with a deep mortar recess.

The clay tile roof is the original tile installed in 1911. It could have been made right on the site or at the Tecumseh Tile Factory. The roof is supported by both the stone exterior wall and by steel scissor trusses mounted on steel columns within the exterior wall.

A flight of stairs at the rear of the church leads to a small choir loft cantilevered over the doors. Steel suspension rods were added to the front of the choir loft in the 1930s to stabilize its load. Interior and exterior stairs at the entry lead to the basement below which serves as a meeting room with a kitchen in the rear.

In the 1952 Father William Schneider remodeled the interior of the church. The main altar and the two side altars were replaced with low chalice-shaped altars.

(History prepared for designation of St. Mary’s Church as a Michigan historic site in 1992.)