St. Paul's Catholic Church

From Eufaula Indian Journal Bicentennial Edition June 1976

Soon after the founding of Eufaula in the early 1870s the few Catholic residents who lived in this area were served by missionary priests to the Creek Indians.

Rev. Paul Ponzigliane, a Jesuit from the Osage mission at St. Paul. Kan., records that while at Eufaula in July 1872, he offered Mass outdoors in the presence of a large crowd of Indians.  Another early missionary was Rev. Michael Smyth of St. Patrick's Church, Fort Smith, Ark.

The late Mary Sarbe Isbell, a native of Eufaula was born in 1884.  She remembered attending mass in a section house near the Katy railroad here.  She was told she was baptized at an earlier ceremony in one of the MKT living quarters.

Rev. William Ketchum was the prime mover in building the first Catholic church in Eufaula.  Eufaula was the first mission he organized following his ordination and appointment as pastor in Muskogee in 1892.

Dedication services for the local church were held on September 11, 1892 by Bishop Theophile Meerschaert of Guthrie, Oklahoma territory, and assisted by Reverends Ketchum and Willibrord Voogdon.

The white frame church, dedicated as the "Church of the Most Precious Blood," stood on Main Street just south of the present Wagoner Hardware Store.  The lot was donated by Mary Herod, aunt of Cheneya Isbell Green, a long-time member of the parish.

In 1909, the late C.H. Tully, pioneer Eufaula attorney and businessman, deeded the local church a block of land.  It was on North Third Street, bounded by Rock Avenue, fourth Street and Railey Avenue.  The deed also covered a nice frame house which was used as a rectory.

The rectory, located on the corner of Third and Rock, was used as such from 1909 until 1926, at which time Eufaula again became a mission of Muskogee.  Resident pastors here included Rev. Michael Lyman (1909-1917), Rev Columban McInery (1917-1920), Rev Omer Beel (1920-1929), and Rev. Thomas R. Gorman (1924-1926).

While pastor of Eufaula, Reverend Lyman was responsible for establishing three mission churches.  They were Holy Family, Creekola and St. Joseph's, Webbers Falls, both in Muskogee County, and Sacred heart, Grayson, which serves the Black Community in the Okmulgee County town.  Creekola is now closed, but Webbers Falls is still served from
Sallisaw and Grayson from Okmulgee.

Other priests who have served the Eufaula Mission from parishes at Wagoner, Muskogee, McAlester and Krebs include Msgr. James F. McGuire and Rev. H.L. Dietjens, William J. Glynn, John T. Murray, Thomas R. Hoffman, Gilbert Hardesty, Alvin Hayes, Paul Brown, Bernard Collins, Raymond Carlin, Herman Foken, Joseph A. LaBonte, William J. Pace, Henry Helinghausen, Lawrence Hayden, John Scheller, Robet Kropp, Lawrence Cortwright, William Eichoff, Paul Hight, Thomas Litsch, Daniel Perlinski, and the present pastor, Donald W. Brooks.  The records also show a Rev. Locke, but his first name is not known.

Around 1918 or 1919 the church building on South Main was moved to the corner of Third and Railey.  When the move was made, plans were given serious consideration to build a parochial school between the church building and the rectory, but this project never materialized.  Mr. and Mrs. Tully, who had provided the church property, also donated land for the Catholic Cemetery in Eufaula at a much earlier date.

After 1926 when Eufaula reverted to mission status, Mass was held only on two Sundays a month  The congregation nevertheless met for services on the other Sundays.  Sunday School classes met on these occasions at 9 a.m. with Miss Maggie Foley and Mrs. Mamie Hayes Barry and Mrs. Elizabeth Winkleman Huls as teachers.  F.X. Suess would lead the assembled group in prayer.  The rosary was recited, along with various litanies and special prayers, and Stations of the Cross during the Lenten season.  Mr. Suess was so faithful to these responsibilities that the congregation gave him the title "Father Suess".

Over the years the Eufaula ch8rch has had only two organists.  Miss Maggie Foley was the first organist and she served the church until about 1940 when she retired because of ill health.  The present organist, Mrs. Ethel Hurt Murray took over at that time and has served in that capacity ever since.

When Lake Eufaula was created, the church building stood on land that was condemned by the U.W. Corps of Engineers.  The parish thus was forced to seek a new location.

C.L. Follansbee, pioneer Eufaula business leader and lifelong Catholic, was the parish's next benefactor.  He gave the lot at Forrest Avenue and Sixth Street for a new church , along with a generous donation toward its construction.  Also with lake condemnation funds, an Extension Society grant of $10,000 and generous pledges from parishioners, a new brick building composed of the sanctuary and recreational hall, became a reality.

The new church was named in honor of St. Paul and the first Mass was offered at Midnight on Christmas Eve., 1962.  Father Robert Kropp, associate pastor of St. John's parish, McAlester, and administrator of the Eufaula Mission, was the celebrant.  The church was dedicated by Bishop Victor J. Reed on the afternoon of March 17, 1963, assisted by Rev. Ferdinand F. Meiss, pastor of the McAlester parish, and Reverend Kropp.  Numerous other priests, many of them formerly in charge of the mission were present for the occasion.

On Saturday, Dec. 7, 1974, Bishop Bernard J. Ganter of Tulsa dedicated St. Paul's education center building located about 200 feet south of the church on the northeast corner of Woodland Avenue and Sixth Street.  After blessing the building, Bishop Ganter called the "house of color," referring to the lively decorating shades for the interior by Father Brooks.

Mrs. Cheneya Isbell Green was baptized in Eufaula ch8rch in April 1901 when she was less than one month old, making her a 75 year member and the oldest living parishioner in membership years.

Other long time members of 50 or more years are Mesdames Mary Ellis O'Reily Wright, Elizabeth Winkleman Huls, Marcella Burford, Ethel Hurt Murray, Mary Rowena Brotton Grimes, and Miss Margaret Buford and Messrs. Vincent Tully, Charles L. Follansbee, Forrest Kloeckler, Tully O'Reilly, Robert B. Buford and Joe Butenschoen.

Mrs. Dorothy Stokes has been a member of the Eufaula church about 30 years, and Mr. and Mrs. A.L. "Bud" Kelsoe some 20 years.

Members of the parish council are:  Tully O'Reilly, chairman; Charles Burns, vice-chairman; and Joe Butenschoen, Dick Willis and John Breuninger.  Ex-officio members include Rev. Don Brooks, pastor; Margaret Buford, secretary; and C.L. Follansbee, treasurer.  William Bufford and Charles Bufford are diocesan delegates.

Mrs. Kathy Mitchell is Sunday School director and her teachers are Mrs. Ron Keller, Mrs. Ed Roth and Mr. and Mrs. John Brueninger.

St. Paul's is the only Catholic church in McIntosh County.  It serves residents of Eufaula, Checotah, Canadian, Crowder, Indianola and various persons in the developments around lake Eufaula, in addition to Fountainhead and Arrowhead Lodges.

Membership in the Catholic community is increasing steadily because of lake Eufaula and it is hoped that soon there will again be a resident pastor for Eufaula and the surrounding area.